A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE …unn.edu.ng/publications/files/images/NEBOH,...

NEBOH, OLIVE IFEYINWA

PG/Ph.D/99/27333

EFFECT OF LEARNING ACTIVITY PACKAGE (LAP) ON STUDENTS’

ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION IN SENIOR SECONDARY

SCHOOL BIOLOGY

Science Education

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE

EDUCATION FACULTY OF EDUCATION UNIVERSITY OF

NIGERIA, NSUKKA

Webmaster

2009

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

TITLE PAGE

EFFECT OF LEARNING ACTIVITY PACKAGE

(LAP) ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND

RETENTION IN SENIOR SECONDARY

SCHOOL BIOLOGY

BY

NEBOH, OLIVE IFEYINWA

REG. NO. PG/Ph.D/99/27333

A THESIS PRESENTED

TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

FACULTY OF EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN

SCIENCE EDUCATION

2009

APPROVAL

This thesis has been approved for the Department of Science

Education, Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

By

________________________ ________________________

SUPERVISOR INTERNAL READER

________________________ ________________________

EXTERNAL EXAMINER HEAD OF DEPARTMENT

___________________________

DEAN OF FACULTY

CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that NEBOH, OLIVE IFEYINWA a postgraduate

student in the Department of Science Education with Registration Number

PG/Ph.D/99/27333, has satisfactorily completed the requirement for research

work for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Science

Education. The thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or in full

for any other Diploma or Degree of this University or any other University.

_____________________________ _______________________

Neboh Olive Ifeyinwa Prof. Eunice A. C. Okeke

Student Supervisor

DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to the Almighty God, who enabled me to

get the work completed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher wishes to express her profound gratitude to her

supervisor, Prof. Eunice A. C. Okeke for her guidance and constant

encouragement without which this work would not have been

successfully completed. She is also grateful to Dr. C. R. Nwagbo,

Dr. A. A. Nwosu, Dr. Z. C. Njoku, Prof. Uche Nzewi, Prof. P. E. Eya,

Dr. C. E. Idoko, Dr. Eric Nwagu, Dr. G. C. Obodo, and Dr. C. Ebuoh

who contributed immensely in reading and streamlining the work at the

different stages.

The researcher‟s appreciation also goes to Mrs. Sylvia Ojilibe,

Mrs. Ngozi Elobuike, Mrs. Anthonia Ugwu and Mr. A. Chime who as

biology teachers of the sampled schools, participated actively in the

study as research assistants. Finally, the researcher is immensely

grateful to her husband Mr. Cornel O. C. Neboh, her mother

Mrs. Idah Chukwuka and children Nnenna, Chinenye, Ifeanyi and

Onyedika for their encouragement and moral support.

TABLE OF CONTENT

CONTENT PAGES

Title Page - - - - - - - - i

Approval - - - - - - - - ii

Certification - - - - - - - - iii

Dedication - - - - - - - - iv

Acknowledgment - - - - - - vi

Table of Content - - - - - - - vi

List of Tables - - - - - - - ix

Abstract - - - - - - - - x

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION - - - - 1

Background of the Study - - - - - 1

Statement of the Problem - - - - - 14

Purpose of the Study - - - - - - 15

Significance of the Study - - - - - - 16

Scope of the Study - - - - - - 19

Research Questions - - - - - - - 21

Hypotheses - - - - - - - - 22

CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 25

A. Theoretical Framework - - - - - 26

Learning Activity Package and Theories of Learning - 26

B. Conceptual Framework - - - - - 32

Teaching and Learning of Science in Nigeria - 32

Teaching and Learning of Biology in Nigeria - - 37

Lecture Teaching Method - - - - - 40

Individualized Instruction - - - - - 42

The Learning Activity Package (LAP) as an Innovative

Approach - - - - - - - 48

Students‟ Achievement and Retention in Science - 54

C. Review of Related Empirical Studies - - - 61

Gender Issues in Science Achievement and Retention - 61

Related Empirical Studies on Individualized

Instruction and Learning Activity Package (LAP) - 86

D. Summary of Literature Review - - - - 93

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHOD - - 96

Design of the Study - - - - - - - 96

Area of Study - - - - - - - 97

Population of the Study - - - - - - 97

Sample and Sampling techniques - - - - - 98

Classification of Ability Group - - - - - 99

Instrument for Data Collection - - - - - 99

Development of Learning Activity Package (LAP) - - 100

Validation of the Instrument - - - - - 104

Reliability of the Instrument - - - - - 106

Control of Extraneous Variables - - - - - 108

Experimental Procedure - - - - - - 110

Method of Data Collection - - - - - - 113

Method of Data Analysis - - - - - - 113

CHAPTER FOUR – PRESENTATION OF RESULTS - 115

Research Question One - - - - - - 115

Research Question Two - - - - - - 116

Research Question Three - - - - - - 118

Research Question Four - - - - - - 119

Research Question Five - - - - - - 120

Research Question Six - - - - - - 122

Research Question Seven - - - - - - 124

Research Question Eight - - - - - - 125

Hypothesis One - - - - - - - - 127

Hypothesis Two - - - - - - - - 129

Hypothesis Three - - - - - - - 129

Hypothesis Four - - - - - - - - 130

Hypothesis Five - - - - - - - - 130

Hypothesis Six - - - - - - - - 132

Hypothesis Seven - - - - - - - 132

Hypothesis Eight - - - - - - - 133

Summary of Major Finding - - - - - - 133

CHAPTER FIVE – DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS,

CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS

AND SUMMARY OF THE STUDY - - - - 136

Discussion of Findings - - - - - - 136

Effect of Learning Activity Package on Students‟ Achievement 136

Effect of Learning Activity Package on Students‟ Retention - 138

Effect of Gender on Students‟ Performance in the Retention Test 139

Interaction Effect of Treatment and Gender on Students‟ Achievement 140

Interaction Effect of Treatment and Gender on Students‟ Scores on

Retention Test - - - - - - - 141 Interaction Effect of Treatment and Ability Level on Students‟

Achievement - - - - - - - - 142 Interaction Effect of Treatment and Ability Levels on Students‟

Scores in the Retention Test - - - - - 143

Conclusion - - - - - - - - 144

Educational Implication of the Findings - - - - 145

Recommendations - - - - - - - 147

Limitation of the Study - - - - - - 149

Suggestions for Further Research - - - - - 150

Summary of the Study - - - - - - 151

References - - - - - - - - 155

Appendices - - - - - - - - 168

Appendix A: Biology Achievement Test (Pre-Test) - - 168

B: Biology Achievement Test (Post-Test) - 184

C: Test Blue Print for BAT - - - - 197

D: Validators Comment on BAT - - - 198

EI: Computation of Reliability of BAT (K-R 20)

(Pre-BAT) - - - - - 201

EII: Computation of Reliability of BAT (K-R 20)

(Post -BAT) - - - - - 203

FI: Computation of Pearson‟s Product Moment

Correlation Co-efficient of BAT (Co-efficient of

Equivalence) - - - - - 205

FII: Reliability (Co-efficient of Stability) of BAT

Using Pearson‟s Product Moment Technique - 207

G: Learning Activity Package (LAP) - - 209

H: Teacher‟s Guide to Learning Activity Package 245

I: Lecture Method Lesson Plan- - - 255

J: Marking Scheme for Pre-Test BAT - - 274

K: Marking Scheme for Post-Test BAT- - 275

L: Schools in Enugu Educational Zone - - 276

M: Appeal for Validation of Instrument - - 278

N: Summary of Item Analysis for Pre BAT - 321

O: Summary of Item Analysis for Post BAT - 323

P: Training Manual for Teachers - - - 325

Q: Distribution of Research Subjects in the Various

Intact Classes Used for the Study - - 326

LIST OF TABLES

Pages

Table 1: Research Design - - - - - 96

Table 2: Mean Achievement and Standard Deviation Scores

of Students taught the Unit of Life with LAP and

Lecture Method - - - - - 115

Table 3: Mean Retention and Standard Deviation Scores of

Students taught the Unit of Life with LAP and Lecture

Method - - - - - - 117

Table 4: Mean Achievement and Standard Deviation Scores of

Male and Female Students in Post – BAT - 118


Male and Female Students - - - - 119


SS II Students in the Post BAT with different abilities

When taught the Unit of Life - - - 120


SS II Students in the Post BAT with different abilities

When taught the Unit of Life - - - 122


SS II Students Showing the Interaction Between

Teaching Strategies and Gender when taught the

Unit of Life - - - - - - 124

Table 9: Mean Retention and Standard Deviation Scores of SS II Students Showing the Interaction Between Teaching

Strategies and Gender when taught the Unit of Life 126

Table 10: Analysis of Covariance of Students Mean Achievement

Scores in BAT (Instruction Method x Gender and

Instruction Method x Ability Group) - - - 128

Table 11: Analysis of Covariance of Student Mean Retention Scores

in BAT (Instruction Method x Gender and Instructional

Method x Ability Group) - - - - 131

ABSTRACT

The study was designed and conducted to determine the effectiveness of the

Learning Activity Package (LAP) in influencing students‟ achievement and

retention in Senior Secondary School Biology. Eight research questions and

eight null hypotheses guided the study. A Quasi-Experimental Pre-test, Post-

test, Non-equivalent Control Group Design was adopted for the study. A

sample of 317 SS II biology students, drawn by both purposive and simple

random sampling techniques from four co-educational schools in Enugu

Educational Zone was used for the study. The four schools were assigned to

experimental and control groups respectively. Two intact classes in each

school – (one as experimental and the other one as control group) were

randomly selected. The experimental and control groups were taught the

biology topic (Unit of Life) by the regular biology teachers. Three

instruments – Pre-BAT, Post-BAT and Retention Test (which is the same as

the Pre-BAT) were developed, duly validated and reliability of equivalence,

internal consistency and stability duly established (0.79, 0.83, 0.73 and 0.92

respectively) before using them for data collection. The research questions

were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were

tested at (P < 0.05) using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The result of

data analysis showed that:

1. There is a significant difference between the experimental and control

group, with the mean achievement and retention scores of the LAP

group being significant more than the control group.

2. There is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of

male and female students, but the male students retention test was

significantly greater than those of their female counterpart.

3. The interaction effect of LAP and gender on students‟ mean

achievement scores in the post test and mean scores in the retention

test were not statistically significant.

4. The interaction effect of LAP and students academic ability levels on

students achievement scores in the post test and mean retention scores

were statistically significant.

A major educational implication of the findings is that the use of LAP does

not show any significant difference in the achievement of male and female

students. Thus the use of LAP will not only help arrest the problem of male

being regarded as high achievers in science-related courses but will also

encourage the female students to enroll in such courses among others. Based

on these, some recommendations were made which include; that seminars

and workshops should be organized by government and relevant professional

bodies like STAN to educate and sensitize the teachers on the use of

Learning Activity Package as they may not be familiar with it.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Science and technology are important tools for development and

productivity in any nation. Science is a necessity for every nation that

wants to maintain its independence, sovereignty, self-reliance, ensure

growth, and have its head held high among civilized nations. This is

because science and technology provide the basic tools of

industrialization and economic development in the areas of

communication, transport, energy, information, pollution and waste

control, among others. In Nigeria, the study of science is of so great

importance, that a lot of emphasis has been laid on the teaching and

learning of science with the major aim of science education, as

contained in the National Policy on Education, being to equip the

students to live effectively in this modern age (FME, 2004). This can

be achieved by the inculcation in the learners the necessary scientific

skills and attitudes.

The inculcation of scientific skills and attitudes in students can

only be achieved through the proper teaching of the various science

subjects. These include Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics,

Health Science, Agriculture, etc. Biology as one of the science subjects,

when properly taught, will help the students to solve personal and

societal problems. The knowledge of Biology helps to question

superstitions, know the function of the various parts of the body,

enables one to understand oneself, maintain good health practices such

as the use of clean water, good sanitation, balanced diet, the need to

vaccinate, among others (Maduabum, 1998). The importance of

Biology as a secondary school subject can be further illustrated by the

fact that a candidate must obtain a credit pass in it, for admission into

any Nigerian University to study such important science – based

courses as Medicine, Pharmacy, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Food

Technology, etc.

Despite the fact that Biology and other science related subjects

are important to human progress; students still perform poorly in them.

The low performance as reported in various science tests is evident in most

science subjects in general. This is pointed out by the report of the Registrar,

Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (2008) who indicated that the

performance of candidates in the University Matriculation Examination

(UME) over the last three years has shown a steady decline. This is an

indication of low retention of what is taught and subsequently poor

achievement.

A statistical table of West African Senior School Certificate

Examination (May/June) from 2005 – 2007 illustrated the

student low performance in biology for three consecutive years.

The following are the percentage (%) grade – (credit, passes and

failure) obtained by the students. In 2005, the total number of

candidates who sat for SSCE were seven hundred and twenty

two thousand, and three (722,003) candidates and out of this

number one hundred and twenty thousand, four hundred and

sixty (120,460) candidates got credit and above represented by

16.71 percent. One hundred and eighty eight thousand, six

hundred and three (188,603) candidates got passes represented

by 26.16 percent. Four hundred and twelve thousand, nine

hundred and forty (412,940) candidates failed entirely and the

above represented by 57.27 percent. In 2006, the total number of

candidates who sat for the examination were one million, and

twenty five thousand, four hundred and fifty six (1,025,456)

candidates, and out of this number, four hundred and forty one

thousand six hundred and seventy two (441,672) candidates

obtained passes and above represented by 43.07 percent.

In 2007, the total number of candidates who sat for the

examination were one million, to hundred thousand, and twenty eight

(1,200028) candidates, and out o this number two hundred and seventy

eight thousand, one hundred and fifty tow (278,152) candidates got

credit and above represented by 22.80 percent. Three hundred and

seventy thousand, five hundred and one (370,501) candidates got passes and

the above represented by 30.37 percent. Eight hundred and fifty thousand,

six hundred and four (571,375) candidates failed entirely and the above

represented by 48.83 percent (WAEC, 2008).

This is also evident in the Chief Examiners Report of the West

African Examination Council (2008). There are indications that candidates

who sat for the WASC Examination in most science subjects exhibited the

following lapses:-

- inability to properly interpret questions;

- failure to write or answer their questions logically, systematically

and convincingly;

- poor drawing skills;

- shallow understanding of most concepts in Biology;

- poor power of expression;

- inability to relate features to functions;

- inability of the candidates to correctly spell many Biological

terms.

The aforementioned gives an indication that there may be low

desire in the area of Biology as one of the science subjects. This may

lead to appreciable low/poor choice of biology or other science subjects

as a subject to offer in the secondary schools or tertiary institutions.

This may also be an indication that meaningful learning had not taken

place. The over all achievement and retention in biology and other

sciences are very much related to many other variables, which are

evident in the studies carried out by other researchers. The variables

include: the ability levels of the learners, gender issues, teaching –

learning environment (location), teaching methods, teachers ability to

use the various methods and materials provided, students backgrounds,

level of intelligence of the students, students cognitive styles, among

other variables (Moore, 2000; Mukalia, 2000; Ogunleye, 2002; Eccles,

2002).

Students vary in their academic abilities and this tends to be

reflected in the extent to which they are affected by a particular

teaching methods. For instance, Diamond and Onwuegbuzie (2001)

expressed concern over the influence of different teaching methods on

learning benefits of students of different ability groups, stating that

differences in intellectual functioning among learners necessitate

variations in instructional strategies. Researches conducted by Okeke

(1986), Ezeh (1992) and Udeji (2007) indicated that teaching methods

have differential effects on students of different academic ability levels

(low, average, high levels) with one group benefiting more from a

particular teaching method than the other. For instance both Eze

(1992) and Udeji (2007) found out that with the various methods used,

achievement is significant with the high ability groups, while the

findings of Okeke (1986) indicated that in as much as some students

are highly gifted they do not achieve well in science this may be due to

the teaching method employed which may not suit all the groups. In

view of the foregoing, it might be necessary to find out the students

academic ability group (low, average or high) for which a particular

teaching method will be more effective.

Various teaching methods are used by teachers in the teaching of

Biology aimed at brining about meaningful learning. These include

lecture method, demonstration method, discovery, project, inquiry

among many others. The most commonly used is the lecture method.

This is mostly employed by most science teachers because of some of

its advantages which include the fact that it can be used to cover a large

content area at a time and the students are given the same content at the

same time. Another major advantage is that it can be used to teach a

large class which is a prominent feature in most Nigeria secondary

schools. Lecture method can be very useful in teaching when used in

conjunction with other methods especially for the purpose of

introducing the topic. Despite all these advantages, the lecture method

employed in the teaching of biology and other sciences has some flaws,

which might be one of the causes of the poor achievement in the

sciences. According to Awotua-Efebo (2001), the lecture method is

mainly teacher – centered, with the students being consistently passive

and contents are taught as absolute knowledge. This method had failed

in the recognition of the uniqueness of the inquiry-based nature of

science and the learner‟s individuality. Furthermore it does not facilitate

the development of reasoning skills and processes in the students. These,

among other reasons had not enhanced learning in students and thus had led

to poor achievement of students in the sciences.

It has been observed that effective teaching may facilitate

learning and make it more meaningful. In line with this, Sander (2001)

stated that effective teaching helps the learner to learn better, while

poor teaching would naturally lead to poor learning and consequently

poor achievement. Evidence available from literature on science

education in Nigeria consistently shows that achievement in various

aspects of science at various levels of education is very poor. Eccles

(2002) whose study revealed that there was a tremendous increase in

the number of students‟ under-achievement in science. The basic

factors responsible for students‟ under-achievement in science can be

grouped into teacher related and facility-oriented factors. These factors

include the materials used, and the teaching method employed, among

other things. Unfortunately, evidence from literature showed that most

science teachers in Nigeria secondary schools predominately use

lecture method in teaching science due to poor knowledge and none

exposure to other learner centered method leading to poor achievement

and retention (Anderson, 2001; Freedman, 2002; Omoniyi, 2006).

Retention, according to Chauhan (1998), is a direct correlate of

positive transfer of learning. This means that high retention may lead

to high achievement which is a factor of many variables such as

interval between learning and retrieval, intervening experiences,

specific subject involved, teaching strategies/methods used, and

environmental situations, among others. Evidence from researches

showed that there is no consistency on the variables that may lead to

the students retaining more of what they have learnt. Separate studies

carried out by Ndukwe (2000), Nnadi (2001) and Eze (2002) showed

that there was no significant differences between the pupils mean post

achievement and retention scores. However, other studies carried out

by Udousoro (2002) and Udeji (2007) showed that the methods

employed in teaching science led to students high retention and

achievement. These findings suggest that there is need to carry out

more studies to clarify issues related to achievement and retention as it

concerns methods of teaching used in teaching. Since there is no

consensus on the effect of methods on students‟ retention and

achievement, there is need to investigate a learner centered activity

oriented method and its effect on achievement and retention. Learner

centered activity oriented method may include the use of a Learning

Activity Package (LAP).

A Learning Activity Package (LAP) is a student – centered,

activity-oriented teaching strategy where the teacher acts as a facilitator

of learning, guiding the students through a series of activities and

problems, which may help learners to achieve highly. In LAP, learning

materials are broken into small steps that are arranged sequentially

from known to unknown and in an increasing order of difficulty. This

suggests that LAP calls for individualized student attention. In solving

the students‟ problems of poor achievement and retention in Biology,

there is the need to shift from the conventional methods of teaching

sciences to a more innovative method - a method that should seek for a

way of making teaching more precise, while at the same time adjusting

both the objective and methods of learning to the needs and

characteristics of the individual learners. This innovative method must

enable each student to work at his own pace thus accommodating both

the fast and slow learners. In this method, the goals of the subject

matter must be spelt out very well that students can arrive at the same

goals independently along some avenue other than the one provided by

the teacher. This calls for an individualized type of instruction.

Individualized instruction, according to Chauhan (1998), is that

in which the teachers attend to learning needs and problems of each

learner separately. In other words, it means the tailoring of instruction

to the particular needs and ability of each learner.

The individualized instruction method can be approached and

achieved through different methods such as Programmed Instruction

(PI), Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI), Independent study (IS),

Audio-Tutorial Training Models (ATTM), Learner-Controlled

Instruction (LCI), Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), Protocol

Packages (PP), and Learning Activity Package (LAP) among others.

Learning Activity Packages (LAP) which is one of the teaching

methods employed to achieve individualized instruction is the focus of

the present study.

Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) had so much been

advocated and had been established by research finding to be good for

individualized instruction. The use in Nigerian Schools had been

hampered by non-availability of computer systems in most public

schools and even some private schools (Eze, 2004). Based on the non-

available of these computer systems in our Nigerian schools the

researcher advocates for the trial of another individualized method of

instruction which can be readily available and can be affordable. This

calls for the trial of the use of Learning Activity Package (LAP).

From the researches available to the researcher the efficacy of

LAP as a teaching technique in Biology was carried out by Abu (2001)

in Zaria, Abu used LAP as an instructional material on students‟

achievement in Biology. In the study, the LAP was developed on the

topic micro-organisms and the subjects used were 25 randomly selected

senior secondary two (SSII) students. The researcher used pre and post

assessment to obtain data on the mastery of the objectives of the topic

with the use of LAP by the subjects. The data was analyzed using

simple percentage with 70%, as the criterion for mastery of the

objectives of the LAP. The post assessment score obtained indicated

that the objectives of the LAP were achieved in terms of students‟

mastery of those objectives.

The above study is indirectly measuring achievement in Biology

and there was no evidence of validation of the instrument used. There

was also no indication of the test of reliability of the instrument used to

ensure that the generalization of the study will not be limited. The

researcher was after the learners‟ mastery of the objectives of LAP and

no other variable was employed in the study. Moreover, the method of

data analysis was the percentage and there was no control group.

Hence, in this study, more control of the characteristics of LAP was

adopted by remedying the above deficiencies including using

experimental / treatment and control groups for assessing the efficacy

of the package. Variables like retention and ability levels were

considered in the present study.

However, the present study focused on the application of LAP as

a method of instruction and not as an instructional material, and was

carried out in Enugu State using four different schools which served as

experimental and control groups. The developed LAP on the „unit of

life‟ was used to ascertain the efficacy of the method with respect to

students‟ achievement and retention with varying ability levels. The

reliability of the LAP was tested to ensure that the results of the study

were not limited. The LAP used in this study was packaged by the

researcher based on the publication made by Cardarelli (1972), details

of the steps followed by the researcher in developing the LAP is

contained in the Research Method.

One related factor that is confronting the use of learner centered

method to teaching, is its ability to have the same impact on both male

and female students equally. This raises the issue of gender in relation

to achievement and retention. Influence of gender on students‟

achievement and retention in science subjects has over the years

attracted the attention and interest of scholars. However, it is worthy of

note that opinions and findings about the issue have been diverse.

Specifically, while some scholars (Onekutu and Onekutu, 2002; Eriba

and Sesugh, 2006) found out that males achieve higher and retain more

than females, others found out otherwise (Alkhateeb, 2001; Bleuer and

Wattz, 2002; Omoniyi, 2006). Yet another group of scholars are of the

view that achievement and retention in science subjects are not

influenced by gender (Iloputaife, 2001 and Eze, 2001). Additionally

therefore this study investigated the relevance and possible influence of

gender on students‟ achievement and retention in Biology when LAP

method is employed in teaching them.

Statement of Problem

The persistent poor achievement of students in Biology as

revealed by both research results and WAEC Chief Examiners‟ Reports

calls for concern especially for teachers of Biology that enroll larger

number of students. The problem has to a large extent been attributed

to ineffective teaching method employed by the teachers – especially

lecture teaching method which is teacher-centered.

Consequently, there is felt need to improve on the teaching and

learning of Biology by exploring the use of some innovative learner

centered teaching–learning methods, since it is believed that meaningful

learning may be as a result of active participation by students. Although,

many studies had been carried out on some innovative methods, like

Programmed Instruction and Computer Assisted Instruction methods.

Findings have shown that they are student centered and can also

enhance learning and achievement, but the problem of large class and non

availability of computer systems in most Nigerian classes has made their

practicability nearly impossible. Therefore there is still the need to

investigate other innovative child-centered method that is affordable,

readily available as well as flexible, combing both package learning and

practical activities (i.e. minds – on and hands – on). Such a method should

enable the teacher to easily diagnose the problems of the individual

learner and allows the learners to evaluate themselves, receiving

immediate knowledge of result. This calls for the trial of another

individualize method such as Learning Activity Package (LAP). Hence, the

study was set to find answer to the question: What is the effect of LAP on

students‟ achievement and retention in Biology?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the use

of Learning Activity Package on students‟ achievement and retention in

Biology. Specially, the study sought to:

1. determine the effect of the LAP on students‟ achievement and

retention in Biology when taught the Unit of Life.

2. find out the extent gender exerts influence on students‟

achievement and retention in Biology when taught the Unit of

Life.

3. determine the effect of interaction between the teaching strategy

and students‟ gender on achievement and retention in Biology

when taught the unit of life.

4. determine the effect of interaction between teaching strategy and

ability levels on students‟ achievement and retention in biology

when taught the „unit of life‟.

Significance of the Study

The results of this study have both theoretical and practical

significance. This study is theoretically justified by the fact that cognitive

development takes place from the active interaction of the child with his

environment. This means that the basis of learning is the child‟s own ability

as he interacts with his physical and social environment. The Piagetian

theory of intellectual development holds that cognitive development takes

place from active interaction of the child with his environment. This has a

close relationship with the Learning Activity Package (LAP), which is

student-centered. In other words, the LAP as a teaching method in

conformity with the theory emphasizing active interaction of the learner with

his environment while the teacher guides or facilitates the interaction; the

result of this study would therefore help in authenticating the tenets of

Piagets theory.

Apart from the theoretical significance, the result of this study

also has practical benefits. Practically, the findings of this study will

hopefully be of immense benefit to individuals, groups of

people/professional bodies, the government and the society at large.

Specifically, the researcher hopes that biology teachers, students,

authors, curriculum planners, government and the society at large

would derive quite some benefit from the findings of the study.

One of the major problems in science teaching has been teachers

choice of expository teaching method as the method used in teaching.

This has been found to be ineffective in enhancing higher student

achievement and retention. If the result of this study shows that the use

of LAP as a teaching strategy enhances students‟ higher achievement

and increase in their retention in biology, it would then form the basis

for curriculum planners to include it as another teaching strategy for

enhancing instruction.

The findings of this study would hopefully furnish authors of

secondary school biology textbooks with vital information that would

enable the textbooks appeal to the interest, experience and abilities of

the students. Specifically the findings of the study would, among other

things, specify the type of activities that are learner-centered and of

interest to students and which if included in the texts they use, will

make such texts more beneficial to them.

Also if the present study establishes the efficacy of the Learning

Activity Package (LAP) in enhancing students‟ achievement and

retention in biology, then the result could trigger off more researches

and innovations in science teaching. Based on the findings, workshops

and seminars on how to use the Learning Activity Package (LAP) in

teaching different topics in biology to enhance better performance in

the subject could then be sponsored and organized by relevant

governments and such professional bodies as Science Teacher

Association of Nigeria (STAN).

The findings would also provide a type of guide for Biology

teachers. It would reveal the efficacy of LAP to the teachers based on

which they would see it as a more effective method of teaching the

subject. In line with this, it is hoped that the teaching and learning of

Biology will become more interesting, effective, meaningful and less

tedious on the part of the teacher. The study would reveal to the

students the various interesting activities they should be involved in

while studying Biology. This would stimulate and retain their interest

in the subject.

The findings of the study would also equip the students of

Biology with better and adequate knowledge of how best to study

Biology better. From the findings of the study the students would learn

to make better use of their leisure times by engaging in useful Biology

activities. It would also provide them self-assessment guides.

The benefits of effective teaching and learning of Biology in the

school manifest in the society in a number of ways for instance, the

application of the knowledge of the subject in solving health, nutrition and

even agricultural problems in the society by the students. This will make the

society a better place. The students can apply the knowledge only when they

learn the subject well due to better teaching method like LAP being used to

teach them.

Scope of the Study

The study was delimited to the investigation of the effect of the

Learning Activity Package (LAP) on Secondary Schools Students‟

Achievement in and Retention of Biology concepts. The investigation was

restricted only to the topic – Unit of life as found in the Section of the Senior

Secondary School Biology Curriculum meant for SSII students. The choice

of the topic was informed by researches which identified the topic as one of

those that students find difficult to learn (Ike, 2001 and Amaeshi, 2001). The

Unit of Life which deals with forms in which cells exist, cell theory, cell

structure and function and cell and its environment as found in the

curriculum was developed into LAP by the researcher on Romsowki model

of 1984.

The study was carried out with only SSII Biology students in

four co-educational secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone. The

decision was taken to ensure that gender, which is a major variable of

interest in the study, received adequate attention. SSII Biology

students were used for the study because the topic Unit of Life is in

their curriculum. The subunits developed were:

1. Cell as a living unit:

- Forms in which living cells exist

- Cell as part of multicellular organism

2. The Cell

- the cell theory

- the cell structure and function of cell components

- differences and similarities between plant and animals

cells

3. The cell and its environment:

- Diffusion

- Osmosis

- Active transport

- Plasmolysis

- Haemolysis

Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the

study:

1. What are the mean achievement and standard deviation scores of

SSII Biology Students taught the Unit of Life with Learning

Activity Package (LAP) and those taught the same topic using

Lecture Method?

2. What are the mean retention and standard deviation scores of

SSII Biology students taught the Unite of Life with LAP and

those taught the same topic using Lecture Method?

3. What are the differences in the mean achievement and standard

deviation scores of male and female SSII students in Biology

Achievement Test (BAT) when taught the Unit of Life with

LAP?

4. What are the mean retention and standard deviations scores of

male and female SSII Biology students in BAT when taught the

Unit of Life with LAP?

5. What are the interactions between the teaching strategy and

ability level of SSII Biology students in their mean achievement

and standard deviation scores when taught the Unit of Life?


ability level of the SSII Biology students in their mean retention

and standard deviation scores when taught the Unit of Life?


gender of SSII Biology students in their mean achievement and

standard deviation scores when taught the Unit of Life?


gender of SSII Biology students in their mean retention and


Hypotheses

The following hypotheses, which were tested at 0.05 level of

significance, were formulated to guide the study:

H01

There is no significant difference between the mean achievement

scores of SSII Biology students taught the Unit of Life using the LAP and

those taught using the Lecture Method.

H02


scores of male and female students in Biology Achievement Test (BAT).

H03

There is no significant interaction effect between instructional

strategies and genders on students‟ mean achievement scores in

Biology Achievement Test (BAT).

H04

The interaction effect between method and ability levels on

students‟ mean achievement scores will not be statistically significant.

H05

There is no significant difference between the mean retention

scores of SSII Biology students taught the Unit of Life using the LAP

and those taught using Lecture Method.

H06


scores of male and female students in Biology retention test.

H07

There is no significant interaction effect between instructional

strategies and genders on students‟ mean retention scores in biology

retention test.

H08

The interaction effect of method and ability levels on students‟

mean retention scores will not be statistically significant.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The review is presented under the following sub-headings:

A. Theoretical Framework.

- Learning Activity Package (LAP) and theories of learning.

B. Conceptual Framework

- Teaching and Learning of Science in Nigeria.

- Teaching of Biology in Nigeria

- Lecture Teaching Method

- Individualized Instruction

- The Learning Activity Package (LAP)

- Students‟ Achievement and Retention in Science

C. Review of Related Empirical Studies

- Gender Issues in Science Achievement and Retention

- Student ability levels and achievement in science

- Related Empirical studies on individualized instruction

and Learning Activity Package (LAP).

D. Summary of Literature

Theoretical Framework

Learning Activity Package and Theories of Learning

According to Farrant (2002), the Piaget‟s theory of intellectual

development holds that cognitive development takes place from active

interaction of the child with his environment. This means that the basis

of learning is the child‟s own ability as he interacts with his physical

and social environment. Piaget is of the opinion that a child must act

on the objects in his environment for him to learn. This means that he

should be actively involved and should not be passive. The active

involvement of the child may be in form of direct manipulations, visual

observations or through mental or internal transportation or change.

According to Piaget, mental activity of the child is organized into

structures. Various mental activities are related to each other and

grouped together in clusters, which are known as „schemas‟ or patterns

of behaviour. According to Woolfolk and Nicolich (1980), in the

Piagetian system, the schema is the primary unit of cognitive

organization. This means that it is the basic building block of thinking.

Piaget believed that mental activity which is involved in

cognitive organization, is a process of adaptation which is divided into

two opposing but inseparable processes of assimilation and

accommodation. In assimilation, a child fits his new experience into

pre-existing mental structures. He interprets his new experience with

respect to his old experience. Accommodation is the process of the

change of mental structure due to the influence of the environment.

Accommodation also means to modify self to fit the new materials,

while assimilation means to modify the materials to fit the self. The

Piagetian theory thus places the child as the principal agent in the

teaching/learning situation. This being the case, the teacher‟s job is to

provide the individual with situations that encourage experimentation

and manipulation of objects and symbols. According to Awotua –

Efebo (2001), the learner must be allowed to “do” and to progress at

his/her own rate. The individual has the real comprehension of

something only if he/she invents it himself or herself. Whenever we

teach or present materials in quick succession, we prevent the

individual from reinventing it himself or herself because of lack of

understanding of the structure.

The theory has direct implication for the use of Learning Activity

Package in science teaching, especially in Biology. In the first place,

the Piagetian theory of intellectual development holds that cognitive

development takes place from active interaction of the child with his

environment. This is why the researcher advocates the use of Learning

Activity Package as it is a student-centered, activity oriented-teaching

strategy in which the teacher acts as a facilitator of learning, guiding

the students through a series of activities and problems, which will

enhance achievement by the learners.

Secondly, Piagets‟ theory emphasized active participation of the

child which Learning Activity Package Strategy encourages. This is

because in Learning Activity Package, learning materials are broken

into small steps which are sequentially arranged from known to

unknown and in an increasing order of difficulty. A child must master

a step before proceeding to the next one and in doing so the learner is

actively involved in the learning process. Moreover, there are a lot of

activities which the learner is expected to carry out by himself, making

the learner very active in the learning process.

Other learning theories that bear direct or indirect relevance to

Learning Activity Package include Ausubel‟s theory which observed

that learning occurs meaningfully when new information or knowledge

is linked or associated with already existing but relevant knowledge or

concept in the learners cognitive structure. Ausubel‟s theory has

implication for Learning Activity Package when the learner‟s interest

and capabilities are identified. They form the basis for designing new

learning package which are tailored to fit the individual learner‟s

peculiar needs. What the learner already knows may determine his rate

of movement with the Learning Activity Package. Based on this, the

Learning Activity Package is designed in such a way that the learner

progresses at his own rate and in his own way.

Gagne (1965) in his own theory of hierarchical learning

suggested that differences in what the learner already knows

(previously learned capabilities) must, therefore, be placed on the step

one of the learning hierarchy from where the individual can gradually,

in a step by step progression, from simple to complex learning

capabilities master new capabilities or new competencies on his/her

own at his/her own rate.

Still in support of LAP, Bruner‟s theory of learning by discovery

and his theory of cognitive development suggested that instructions at

all level should be geared towards the learning maturational

development or cognitive operation. Bruner‟s theory is directly related

to LAP. This is because effective use of LAP involves the learners

actively working on his own to find solutions to problems.

B. F. Skinner, an American Psychologist, designed the Operant

Conditioning Theory of Learning. This was adopted in teaching human

beings. Skinner devised a special apparatus known as Skinner box.

This box contains a lever/bar that releases a pellet of food into a tray

and at the same time automatically registers the responses of the rat or

pigeon on a time chart (Chauhan 1998). The mechanism in the box

may be a lever for the rat to press or a key for the pigeon to peck. The

reinforcement delivery device may be to deliver food pellets to rats, or

grains to pigeons. According to Chauhan (1998), the rat moved about

restlessly and occasionally pressed its paws on the bar. A container

with pellets of food is attached so that every time the rat presses the

bar, a pellet of food falls into the dish. The rat eats and presses the bar

again. The food reinforces the pressing of the bar. The pressing

response is responsible for producing the food (reinforcer) which then

acts as a stimulus for response (bar pressing). From this and other

similar experiments, Skinner developed a system of learning known as

Programmed Learning or Programmed Instruction which, according to

Langdo and Danny in Offoma and Ofoefuna (1998), is among the 150

individualized instructional packages or designs. The Learning

Activity Package is among them.

Skinner, in his theory, viewed Learning as a series of experiences

which affect behaviour in the same way as conditioning. According to

Awotua Efobo (2001), when the behaviour works, it is kept and when it

does not, it is eliminated. It implies that learning takes place through

trial and error.

To bring about the learning or type of behaviour that is desired, it

is first carefully described. The second phase involves observing the

learner carefully until he/she behaves in a way that resembles the

desired behaviour or goals. When the learner emits‟ this desired

behaviour, he is given a reward or reinforcement. Unrelated or

undesirable behaviour is not reinforced. If the learner is rewarded

immediately for any behaviour that resembles what is desired and if the

reinforcement is sufficient (important or of value to the learner), the

new learning or behaviour will be as planned. Thus, through the

selective use of reinforcement, Skinner accounts for how new learning

is acquired.

It is upon the principle of active interaction of the learner with

the environment that the Learning Activity Package is also based,

where emphasis has shifted from the teacher to the learner performing

the task him/herself. This means that the emphasis is laid on the

learner as an individual. In this situation, the instructional package

plays a dominant role just as the Skinner box. The learners are also

allowed to move at their own pace. That is each category of learner

(both fast and slow learners) move at a pace they can benefit maximally

from the learning experience. The Learning Activity Package provides

the learner with immediate knowledge of result (IKR), just as the

Skinner box, in which the rat gets the pellet of food from operating in

the box. This immediate knowledge of result acts as a reinforcement for

the learner. The learner becomes responsible for what he learns and

how he learns any package.

B. Conceptual Framework

Teaching and Learning of Sciences in Nigeria

The review of teaching and learning of science in Nigeria may be

meaningless without a look at the Science Curriculum. The history of

science curriculum in Nigeria indicated that before and after

independence in 1960, the curriculum was characterized by so much

defects which called for a strong need for improvement. Among the

defects is the fact that the curriculum was incapable of producing for

the nation, individuals with the right orientations capable of salvaging

the nation. The content aspects of the curriculum were a combination of

disjointed topics in each of the science subjects with no unifying

concepts to make both teaching and learning easily attainable. In the

junior classes, it was General Science with the topics merely selected

from the sciences. In the upper classes, the topics taught were geared

towards passing of external examinations and so did not appear to meet

the needs of the society. The teaching of science courses was by

recitation, which violates sound learning (Bajah, 1983; Eze, 2001).

The trend in science teaching and learning changed by 1967,

when the Ford Foundations, through the Federal Ministry of Education,

helped to establish the Comprehensive Education Study and Adaptation

Centre (CESAC) at the University of Lagos. The aim was to study the

nation‟s system of education, identify its defects and devise original

solutions. Science teaching and learning in schools from then focused

more on the needs of the learners and the society at large (Okeke, 1985;

Okoye, 2002).

The 1969 National curriculum conference marked the beginning

of a significant change in the teaching of science in the country. The

National Policy on Education, which is the outcome of the conference,

declared the general aim of primary, secondary and tertiary education

levels as to pursue effective science and technology programmes which

would enable the citizenry adapt to the rapid techno-scientific

development of the nation (FME, 2004). So many international and

national bodies were also involved in the reviewing and revising of the

science curriculum, which include International Institute for Education

Planning (IIEP) of the UNESCO, International Council of Scientific

Union (ICSU), International Council of Association for Science

Education (ICASE) among others (Okoye, 1995). The National

Professional body that was involved include Sciences Teachers

Association of Nigeria (STAN), inaugurated on 30th

November 1957.

The activities of this body were geared towards the advancement of

science education in Nigeria. Another national agency that played an

important role in development of science curriculum is the Curriculum

Development Centre (CDC) of the Nigerian Educational Research and

Development Centre (NERDC) established by decree No. 53 of

December, 1988 (Bajah, 1983). Emerging from the efforts of the

curriculum centres and those of the professional bodies are different

science curricula in different subject areas, channeled to meet the needs

of the individuals.

The role of the teachers in the use of any teaching innovation

cannot be over-emphasized. A sound policy without well-trained

teacher amounts to nothing. Uzodinma (1993) stated that the problem

of the National Policy in Education lies with its implementation. The

implication is that the teacher is the crucial factor to the success of any

school programme. His importance, according to Lassa (1993), is

because he is the initiator of the learning sequence, the assessor of the

learning efficiency and indeed the pivotal element in the entire

educational development. This means that no matter the supervision

from within and outside the school, and the facilities placed at the

disposal of the teacher, it is most important that the classroom teacher

is convinced of what he is expected to teach. Otherwise the practical

will always be significantly different from the planned or prescribed

curriculum. Kenney (2000) emphasized that teachers‟ competence is

measured by their ability to practice their profession successfully and

that they must have control of the knowledge and principles upon

which their practice is embedded.

The variable outlined in Minnesota Attitude Inventory (MAI)

according to Wiggins as recorded in Ugwu (1996), for effective science

teaching include the following:-

i. Use of good judgment

ii. Knowledge of subject matter

iii. Tolerance and good temper

iv. Instructional delivery approach

v. Interest in student progress

vi. Good disposition

vii. Cultured and refinement

viii. Frankness

ix. Creativeness

x. Personality of the teacher

Moreover, the result of the study carried out by Nzewi (1986) on

the competence needed and possessed by teachers of primary science

showed that the Primary School Science teacher should have qualities

to:

- Plan and perform class gesticulations and demonstrations

- Make students acquire proficiency in communication skills; and

motivate students by showing his love, interest and enthusiastic

attitude to primary science.

For teachers to act effectively in any given classroom situation,

the teachers have to show proficiency in training (Profession and

experience). Commenting on this, Owin (1995) stated that formal

training is an evidence that the teacher has the goods to deliver. It is

proper training that will enable the teacher understand the processes

that are involved in any new innovation.

It should, therefore, be noted that according to Green (1995), no

one can do a job well unless the one understands all the processes

involved in the job. Wilson and Hart (2001) observed that a poorly

prepared teacher destroys the effectiveness of any curriculum, while a

professionally prepared teacher can use even inadequately structured

curriculum to programme an effective study. This is very much

applicable to the use of innovative method.

On this basis, the teacher in the class need to be effectively

prepared before his/her involvement in the use of the LAP.

From the above discussion, it is pertinent that the teachers that

will be involved in the use of LAP will be trained, so as to make

effective use of the Learning Activity Package as an innovative

method.

The Teaching and Learning of Biology in Nigeria

The National Policy on Education (FME, 2004), stated some of

the measures that should be taken to ensure qualitative education. It

also stated, among others, that;-

- Educational activities shall be centered on the learner for

maximum self-development and self-fulfillments;

- Modern educational techniques shall be increasingly used and

improved upon at all levels of the educational system;

- The educational system shall be structured to develop the

practice of self learning.

It further stated in specific terms, that secondary education shall;

- offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents,

opportunities and future roles;

- inspire its students with a desire for self improvement and

achievement of excellence;

- raise a generation of people who can think for themselves;

respect the view and feelings of others…

In addition, the Federal Government stated some objectives in

the core curriculum for the senior secondary Biology (FME, 2004).

They include the preparation of pupil to acquire;

- adequate laboratory and field skills in biology.

- meaningful and relevant knowledge in biology.

- the ability to apply scientific knowledge to everyday life in

matter of personal and community health and Agriculture;

- reasonable and functional scientific attitude.

A closer look at the National Policy on Education shows that

there is a need to look into the process of teaching and learning that is

going on in our schools in relation to methods and strategies that are

used in the delivery of the content. This calls for a teaching technique

that will help the learner to maximize self development; to develop the

habit of self learning; create in the learner ability to think for himself

and that is why the researcher feels it is necessary to investigate the use

of LAP in teaching of biology in senior secondary schools. Most

characteristics of LAP fit into the requirement of the federal

government.

In accordance with the Biology objectives stated above, any

Biology curriculum activity intended for senior secondary school must

make room for individual differences and students full participation in

its execution. Also the student is to learn to work and think in a

scientific manner as the first and most important consequence of his/her

studies. By implication, it means that as far as a possible the teaching

and learning in biology classes should be child-centered, so that the

activities of the child would have the most important educative

influence on the child. Children learn best by doing and getting actively

involved in the learning processes and not by memorization.

These goals would seem to be enhanced by individualized

method of instruction, of which the Learning Activity Package is one

rather than the conventional expository method of instruction.

The Lecture Teaching Method

This is a teacher centered, student peripheral teaching approach

in which the teacher delivers a per-planned lesson to the students with

or without the use of instructional materials (Nwagbo 1999). Gbamanja

(1991) observed that in using the method, the teacher talks about

science while the students reading about science.

According to Awotua-Efobo (2001), the teacher comes to the

class fully armed with a mass of facts, probably gathered from books

and would start to pour out the fact. The teacher presents ideas or

concepts, develops and evaluates them and summarizes the main points

at the end, while the students listen and take down notes. Usually

during the course of lecturing, students‟ questions are not normally

encouraged and in cases where questions arise, they are usually for

clarification of important facts.

The lecture method of instruction can be useful in teaching some

biological topics or in conjunction with other methods, can be used

successfully in teaching some biological concepts. However, some of

its disadvantages are identified by Eya and Igbokwe (2000) as follows:

- it does not develop student‟s manipulative skills in science, as

they are passive listeners.

- it does not cater for individual differences among the students,

with the result that the slow learners and the academically weak

students are dragged at the pace they cannot cope with. This may

lead to low achievement and loss of interest.

- the method appeals only to the sense of hearing. This makes the

method not suitable for teaching science in the secondary

schools. Alio (2002) stated that a complete learning takes place

when the child uses all his senses in the learning process.

- the major drawback of lecture method is that it is essentially a

unidirectional mode of communication. The listening student in

most cases has little or no information to influence the nature and

rate of flow of information. One way communication offers little

in the way of interaction and feedback, which is very essential

for learning to occur. When used excessively, the lecture method

encourages intellectual passivity, which is the opposite of

learning and may not develop in the students the processes of

inquiry and problem solving. In other to minimize some of these

drawbacks, there may be need for an individualized method of

instruction like the Learning Activity Package (LAP).

The Individualized Instruction

The ideas underlying the concept of individualized instruction

are that learners differ in their learning characteristics and that these

differences need to form the basis for planning instruction for every

individual learner. Different people learn best in different ways. An

instructional approach that is aimed at individualizing the process of

learning should be adopted. The individualized methods of instruction

help the students to become self-renewing. They reduce the number of

drop-outs from schools, as each child moves at his or her own rate.

They make teaching and learning more precise. This is because it

adjusts both the objectives and methods of learning to the needs and

characteristics of the learners. According to Offorma and Offoefuna

(1998), an individualized instruction is an instructional procedure

designed to take into account the individual‟s aptitude and ability.

According to Chauhan (1985), individualizing instruction means the

tailoring of instruction to the particular needs, aptitudes and abilities of

the learner, in which case the learner works at his or her own pace. The

method takes cognizance of variation in the individual especially in

their starting competence and abilities. The learner proceeds on the

learning of material content at his own pace. The teacher acts more as

a facilitator to the students learning and not as the provider of

information or knowledge. The basic principle guiding

individualization of instruction is that of reinforcement and recognition

of individual difference. Once the learner is appropriately and correctly

linked into the learning of the material content, he/she proceeds on

his/her own. He/she is made aware of his/her performance through the

in-built technique that comes in form of the Immediate Knowledge of

Result (IKR). There are categories of individualized instructional

methods that offer students flexible choices in the objectives of

learning, rate of learning, method (style of learning) and content of

learning. The extent to which choices are offered determines the

degree of individualization in a particular lesson (Awofua – Efebo,

2001). Danny and Langdo in Offorma and Ofuefuna (1998) outlined

some of the designed methods of individualizing instruction. They

include;

- Individualized Learning Plans for Life – Based Inquiry (ILPS).

- Protocol Packages (PP)

- Audio-Tutorial Training Models (ATTM)

- Learner – Controlled Instruction (LCI)

- Programmed Instruction (PI)

- Personalized System of Instruction (PSI)

- Individualized Prescribed Instrument (IPI)

- Self-Directed Individualized Instruction (SDII)

- Independent Study (IS)

- Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)

- Learning Activity Package (LAP)

According to Offorma et al (1998), the differences between these

individualized instructions lies in

- Who determines the objectives

- Who determines the methodology and

- Who determines the materials to be used in achieving the stated

objectives

For instance, in the personalized system of instruction (PSI), the

objectives are not prescribed by the teacher. The learner chooses what

he wants to learn which is directed by the teacher. The students are

actively and continuously participating in the learning process. While

in Self-Directed Individualized Instruction (SDII), the objectives are

stated for all the students to reach. All the materials needed to attain

the objectives are provided. The students are allowed to choose how

they can attain the objectives. In the Independent Study (IS), the

students choose the objectives and the method for attaining them. The

role of the teacher is that of supervisor. In the Learning Activity

Package (LAP), which is a booklet containing learning assignments

organized sequentially, the objectives are specified for the students.

The teacher determines other objectives and the methods to be used to

attain them. The package usually contains diverse activities to reach the

objectives. The package also contains evaluation techniques to

determine whether the objectives have been achieved or not.

The individualized method of instruction has the under-listed

advantages even though no single method can be used alone to teach all

the topics and concepts in Biology. Note that there can be problems of

management of the student resources and curricula. The advantages

include that:

* student frustration caused by material that is either too difficult

or already mastered is minimized.

* concepts are presented at meaningful times because of variation

in sequencing of activities.

* self-pacing reduces study time. This is because there is no

waiting for other students. Materials already learned are not

restudied.

* criterion – reference design allows learners to be evaluated on

personal performance criteria and not on peer performance.

* it makes the learner to be actively involved in the learning

process.

* the teacher is freed from a mere routine work to more

professional duties.

The initial take off of the individualized instruction in advanced

countries like in the United Kingdom presented some problems, most

of which have been surmounted. Neville (2000), in a paper presented

to the Council of Education Technology for the United Kingdom titled

– The Potential of Packaged Learning for Meeting Changing Demands

for Education and Training, identified some of the weaknesses of

packaging learning. One of them is the possibility of providing

adequate education or training, when and where it is required by an

individual. In addition, it was found that many staff in further

education found themselves required to practice a technology for which

they had no training. He also observed that some of the packaged

materials have been tried and rejected. The reason is that the authors

came from a situation different from that in which the users find

himself and therefore lacks credibility. It was also identified that poor

information and distributory network was already inhibiting the wide

use of packages. All these and similar problems and limitations faced

the use of packaged instruction in the United Kingdom, which have

been surmounted by the advancement in science and technology in

these developed nations, which had led to a wide use of the various

methods of the individualized methods.

In Nigeria, all these methods can be studied if one or more

factors are put under control. Some of them are good preparation of the

teachers, provision of equipment and infra-structural facilities and

proper time scheduling.

The researcher could not study all the various types of

individualized instructional methods. Rather the Learning Activity

Package (LAP) was used in this study.

The Learning Activity Package as an Innovative Approach

Learning Activity Package is an innovative approach that acts as

a vehicle that makes for individualization in learning. It is an

adaptation of the programming of instruction. According to Smith

(1972), a Learning Activity Package is a form of communication

between the student and the teacher that contains instructions for

student activities leading toward specified performance outcomes. It is

a teacher – developed strategy of instruction, which had its conception

at the Nova High School in Florida (Cardarelli, 1972). According to

him, LAP is basically a booklet on a given topic containing objectives

related to this topic, diverse activities to reach these objectives, and

evaluations to determine if the objectives have been met. Likewise,

Offorma et al (1998) stated that LAP is a booklet containing sets of

learning assignments organized sequentially to achieve the specified

objectives. The package contains diverse activities to reach the

objectives. In addition, it contains evaluation techniques to determine

whether the objectives have been achieved or not.

Romisowski (1984) in Abu (2001) described the LAP as a mode,

which is a booklet on a given topic, containing objectives related to the

topic, diverse activities to reach these objectives and evaluations to

determine if the objectives have been met. This means that LAP

improves classroom learning, presenting even the most difficult subject

in small steps so that all the students can succeed at their own rates.

The whole process of learning is students centered. The teacher is only

brought in when there is a need for him.

According to Smith (1972) and Cardarelli (1972), the

components of LAP are – topic or title and objectives, pretest,

activities, quizzes and posttest.

1. Topic and Subtopics

The student‟s initial introduction to LAP is the statement of the

topic and subtopics. The topic should reflect the central theme or

primary idea of the unit of work. Depending upon the amount

or magnitude of the body of content, this primary idea may be

broken down into secondary idea, which are the sub-topics. The

extent of coverage of this topic depends on the individual

teacher, the type of student utilizing the LAP and how long the

child has been using LAP.

2. Rationale

Once the decision about the topic and sub-topics are taken, the

rationale follows ordinarily. This is a narrative statement that is aimed

at providing the student with the reason for studying this topic. It

should communicate to the learner the over all intent of the package

and its relevance to the students course of study. It should be clear and

concise. It should lend continuity to previous and subsequent learning

experiences. The rationale can take a variety of forms: a film to

stimulate interest, a large – group representation, a challenging

experiment, an explorative study, or a written rationale which explains

the relevance of the topic within the framework of the total curriculum

of the students everyday life or his future life.

3. Behavioural Objectives

The most fundamental component for guiding or structuring the

behaviours of the learner is a set of objectives which are behaviourally

stated i.e. expressed in terms of what the student will be able to do

upon completion of the LAP. The domain (whether it is cognitive,

affective or psychomotor), the number of objectives and the levels of

performance are all considerations which are dictated by the content

and the manner in which the content is organized. The completeness of

these objectives depends on the level of development of the student(s)

involved. Within the LAP, the function of the objectives is to

communicate goals to the students and it should thus be written in a

simple language.

4. Pretest

Once the intent and the specific performance criteria

(objectives)of the Activity Package have been communicated to the

learners, a self-evaluation should be provided. This form of evaluation

may be student – or teacher directed but it should serve the following

purposes.

* allows the student to by pass the Activity Package if he can

already meet the performance criteria.

* guides the students to those portions of the Activity Package that

he needs to study; and

* allows the students to check on his/her own progress level prior

to the teacher‟s evaluation.

In other words, if the pretest is successfully carried out, it will

help to diagnose weaknesses ahead of time and directly routing the

student to necessary activities; provides the student not with failure, but

success; ensuring a more positive, rewarding learning experience. The

researcher administered a pretest to determine the ability of the learner

before the LAP.

5. Learning Activity

The activities of the LAP attempt to provide the student with a

multi-media, multi-modal, multi-level road to reach the objectives of

the LAP. The multimedia activities, in directing the student to readings,

transparencies, tapes, filmstrips, demonstrations models, etc, provide

for the learning style of the individual learner. The multi-modal

activities, which are the learning strategies include the flexible

program, large group, small group and independent activities. The

multi-level activities provided the learner with the opportunity to start

at the base of his particular weakness. The learning activity which the

researcher employed was in a booklet, requiring students to work on

the activities by themselves.

6. Quizzes

Built into the LAP is the philosophy that if anything is worth

teaching, it is also worth knowing that it has been learned. Frequent

quizzes give the students feedback on their progress and correct their

errors by re-routing them to remedial activities. In this way, his/her

learning is a progressive development. All quiz items are designed to

test specific objectives and so are consistent with the objectives.

7. Post-test

The posttest evaluates student‟s fulfillment of all objectives of

the LAP. The posttest evaluation is not an end, but a beginning – a

beginning of diagnosis of individual student weaknesses; a beginning

of searching for more appropriate activities; a beginning of analyzing

and evaluating our methods of teaching. Through LAP, the post-test

assumes the full role of evaluation, not only evaluating the student, but

evaluating teacher and program effectiveness as well. The posttest

carried out in this research was used as an instrument to measure the

effectiveness of the LAP as compared with the expository method

(lecture method).

Some of the advantages of LAP according to Smith (1972):

i. breaking down materials into small units;

ii. instruction becomes student centered (this is because they carry

out Learning Activities themselves).

iii. students develop more interest in the lessons because they are

actively involved. Psychological findings of Bruner, Gagne,

Piaget and others as reported by Blair and Stone (1975) have

shown that students become more enthusiastic when they carry

out the learning activities themselves.

iv. LAP permits time for students to assimilate and accommodate

information. According to Chauhan (1985), Piaget believed that

there will be no true learning unless the child mentally acts upon

information and the process, assimilates and accommodates what

he encounters in his environment;

v. the instructional materials so programmed can be presented by

means of a teaching package or booklet;

vi. the teacher is relieved of his/her routine tasks and drills;

vii. it builds self-confidence in students. It enables the students to

tackle and solve problems in their learning experiences.

viii. it builds scientific attitudes in students. Such attitudes are open-

mindedness, curiosity, determination, etc.

ix. it makes for meaningful learning (Wandesee, 1990).

From the above advantages, it can be seen that the use of LAP

method is likely to enhance performance. That is why the researcher

investigated the effectiveness of LAP in teaching some biological

topics and its effects on achievement and retention.

Students’ Achievement and Retention in Science

The current state of secondary school achievement in sciences

especially Biology has been characterized according to some scholars

as poor (Anderson, 2001; Ogunleye, 2002; Freedman, 2002; Omoniyi,

2006). The West African Examination Council report on candidates

performance in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination

(2008) equally expressed concern at the deteriorating trend in

performance of candidates over the years in science. Ogunleye (1999)

observed the declining popularity of the physical sciences evident in

the various low enrolment patterns in schools. Rosier (1990) in his

report of the international science study observed that among different

countries of the world that participated, that Nigerian primary school

pupils came last in primary science achievement, while the Nigerian

secondary school students were last, but one in achievement. This

shows the level of low performance in sciences among Nigerian pupils

and students. If this trend of low achievement is allowed to continue

unabated, it will be difficult to achieve the goals of science education

programme in the National Policy on Education.

In his own view, Osisioma (1995) indicated that over the last

three or four years, the performance of candidates in the University

Matriculation Examination (UME) showed a steady decline in the

physical sciences and science related subjects. He pointed out that

according to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), the

result of 451,734 candidates who wrote the University Matriculation

Examination (UME) in December 3rd

, 1994, is the poorest performance

in five years. It also indicated that the candidates performed poorly in

the sciences with low mean percentage scores as follow – physics

(34.94%); mathematics (59.86%); chemistry (44.85%) and Biology

(50:16%). This is still evident in the recent report from the Chief

Registrar JAMB (2004).

In another study, Nnadi (2002) investigated the influence of level

of resource utilization on students‟ achievement and attitudes towards

science. The result showed that out of the nine resource utilization

variables, only six made significant contribution to biology

achievement. Although the work focused on the relationship between

some resource utilization variables, achievement and attitudes in

Biology, it did not concern itself with the effect of specific resource

materials on the students learning. It did not focus on the effect of use

of Learning Activity Package in facilitating achievement and retention.

Nworgu (1990) sought to evaluate the effects of resource

material type on students‟ cognitive achievement, retention and interest

in Integrated Science. The result indicated that resource material type

was consistently significant relation to all the three dependent

variables.

On the basis of this development, a lot of research works have

been carried out to determine the causes of poor performance of

students in science especially in Biology. Jegede, Otuka and Eniayegu

(1992) reported that five factors are responsible for students under

achievement and low interest in science, technology and mathematics

(STM). One major factor that is emphasized was the inadequacy of the

learning facilities in schools against the consistent increase in the

number of students. This falls in line with the factors enumerated by

Bajah (1986) as being responsible for students‟ under-achievement in

sciences, which include:

- Poor status of science teachers;

- Lack of seriousness on the part of the student;

- Non-challant behaviour of teachers of science;

- Uncooperative behaviour of parents;

- Non-availability of standard science laboratories;

- Poor state of science equipment in science laboratories;

- Use of single method in teaching biology;

- Lack of adequate number of science teachers;

- Lack of familiarity of the science teachers with the demand of

the syllabus, including the delivery methods.

- Insufficient time spent on science teaching.

- Lack of suitable textbooks.

- The tyranny of testing, exemplified in the WASC examination.

- The high standard, demanded by the revised curriculum.

Biology as a science course is activity oriented and according to

the National Policy on Education (FME, 2004), it should be taught by

discovery method – a method that is resource based. This shows that

the mastery of the biology concepts cannot be fully achieved without

adopting a teaching method that utilizes learning materials. This is

why Maduabum (1998) stressed that “a professionally qualified science

teacher, no matter how well trained, would be unable to put his ideas

into practice if the school setting lack the equipment and materials

necessary for him or her to translate his/her competency into reality”.

Evidence from studies carried out by researchers (Ofoefuna,

1999; and Moore, 2000) point to the fact that science teachers in

Nigerian secondary schools use predominantly lecture method which is

considered ineffective when used especially solely for science teaching

with particular reference to biology.

Farrant (2002) believed that increase in knowledge lies solely on

the ability to remember. He further explained that if an individual

could not grasp and keep hold of what was taught and learnt, it would

seem like trying to fill a bucket without bottom with water. This means

that if one cannot retain what one learnt then there s no need expecting

one to perform in that activity in the future. That is in line with what

Bruner (1961) said, that students participation in a lesson was a basis

for understanding, achievement and retention. For instance, if a student

memorizes some principles, concepts or processes in the class and

quotes them when the teacher asks, and forgets them immediately, the

student cannot be expected to remember it in the future.

Day (1990) asserted that individuals with high need for

achievements often are those who are optimistic about the future for its

own sake rather than for immediate reward. This means that high

achievers are those with very good retention of concepts learnt and can

produce them whenever necessary.

Mbajiogu (1995) in a study on the effect of Direct-Discovery

method and demonstration method on Acquisition and retention of

science process skills found out that retention by students is facilitated

by motivation, and by allowing the students to find out things by

themselves and to draw conclusion.

In the words of Ndukwe (2000), in his study on immediate

achievement and retention in expository versus project centered method

of instruction in Biology, using SSI students, “the result from the

retention test, given 7 weeks after the treatment had ended, showed that

there is no significant difference in the two mean scores.” This also

falls in line with the findings of Sungur and Tekkaya (2003) who found

out that there is no significant difference in acquisition of science

process skills when two methods are employed. This is in contrary to

the findings of Erinosho (2005) who found out that there is a significant

difference in the acquisition and retention of the science process skills

when different methods are employed. Iloputaife (2001) and Eze

(2001) in their independent studies on achievement and retention of

physics students found that male and female students who offer physics

have no significant difference in their mean achievement and retention

in physics. Furthermore, Eze (1992) found that the difference between

the students‟ (male and female) mean post treatment retention test in

physics was not significant. However, Eriba & Sesugh (2006), and

Onekutu and Onekutu (2002) in their studies found out that male

students achieve and even retain what they have learnt better than their

female counterparts at the secondary school level. On the contrary,

Nworgu (1990) found that sex had a significant effect in favour of

females on retention in physics. This is supported by Weaver –

Hightower (2003) and Omoniyi (2006).

The above reviewed literature showed that achievement and

retention can be variously affected by gender, various types of methods

and other variables like motivation. The present study found out the

effect of the method, Learning Activity Package, on retention and

achievement.

Empirical Studies Review

Gender Issues in Science Achievement and Retention

Quite a good number of studies have been conducted on either

science achievement, or science achievement and retention of students.

For instance, Hassan (1989) carried out a study in Egypt on the

relationship between abstract concept achievement and prior

knowledge formal reasoning ability and gender in Biology using a

sample of 160 secondary school students (85 males and 75 females).

He found, after data analysis, using mean and standard deviation to test

research questions and analysis of co-variance to test hypotheses. The

result showed that the prior knowledge and formal reasoning ability

play a major role in students achievement of abstract concepts, and

secondly that the effect of students‟ prior knowledge on achievement

seems to exceed that of formal reasoning ability. Gender has little

effect on achievement of abstract phenomena. The above study,

however, has no clear view on the relationship between gender and

science achievement and retention.

A study on the major influences on science achievement in a

developing country Kenya, carried out by Twoli and Posner (1989) in

physics; using a sample of 424 respondents found after data analysis

that the school and teacher characteristics play a more significant role

in shaping science attitude and achievement in developing countries

like Kenya, than in developed countries. There were significant

differences between boys and girls in student motivational orientation

and achievement with boys performing better, but the relationship

between gender and achievement is indirect and mediated through

variations in the different types of secondary schools and the teachers

assigned to them. Conversely the prior idea of the students before

formal instructions took place was not considered by the researcher.

Also instructional packages that facilitated learning were not used in

the study.

Rost, Haussler and Holtman (1989) carried out a study on

Energy and Energy Supply and Electric/Domestic Electrical appliances.

The study is captioned long term effects of physics education in the

Federal Republic of Germany. A sample of 869 adults, randomly

selected through a telephone directory, through 11 towns of the Federal

Republic of Germany, found after data analysis, using Analysis of

Covariance, that a strong relationship existed between the amount of

physics instruction received in school and both types of knowledge

(theoretical and practical) in adulthood. Interests and attitudes were

less influenced by school variables than by out of school socialization.

Also, gender differences in physics knowledge could only be partially

ascribed to differences in educational career with boys achieving better

than girls. The researchers did not use individualized instructional

packages in ascertaining their effectiveness in facilitating achievement

and retention in electricity.

Lagoke, Jegede and Oyebanji (1997) in their study in Nigeria on

towards the elimination of the gender gulf in science concept

attainment, through the use of environmental analogies used a sample

of 243 (200 boys and 43 girls) randomly selected from Zaria Township

of Kaduna State in Nigeria. The design of the study was a pre-test-

post-test control group quasi experimental design. On analyzing data

using analysis of covariance (p<0.05), they found that:

1. The experimental group that was taught with analogy performed

better than control group which was taught with expository

method in Biology concepts.

2. Both boys and girls in the experimental groups attained an

equivalent cognitive outcome after a six week treatment period.

In the above study, the effects or influences of an activity

package was not investigated in terms of facilitating achievement

and retention.

The researchers above used a control group taught with

expository instructional package. Using a control group may not be too

important in determining the effectiveness of analogy instructional

package. This is because the effectiveness of analogy on students

achievement in sciences has been reported earlier before the study

(Glyn, 1989; Treagust, 1990; Duit, 1991; and Nworgu, 1996). The

researchers would have investigated the effectiveness of two or more

individualized instructional packages in facilitating conceptual change,

achievement and retention among male and female physics students.

While investigating the influence of sex and location on physics

achievement, Daramola (1983) used 282 students drawn from class

three in nine secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. A 25 - item

multiple choice objective test called Basic Physics Test, (BPT) was

used to measure achievement at a level of significance of 0.01. The

reliability of the work was determined using Cronbach alpa, = 0.86.

It was found that after data analysis with Analysis of Covariance that:

a. Location was significant (p < 0.01) factor influencing students‟

achievement as rural sample performed better than the urban

sample.

b. Sex was not significant (p < 0.05)

The above study has no form of validity. So the generalizability

of the findings is limited.

Iloputaife, Obi, Emere, Nwosa and Ugwuanyi (1984) carried out

a study on the Effect of Guided Discovery and Expository methods of

task presentation among class three secondary school physics students.

A sample of 120 class three students in Nsukka was used. A three

stage sampling procedure was devised in selecting the sample. Two

instruments with 30 multiple choice questions were developed after

being face and content validated.

The design of the study is a 2 x 2 factorial design, where the two

treatment groups were initially equaled. One-way Analysis of Variance

(ANOVA) was used in data analysis (p < 0.05). The Scheffe multiple

group comparison test was also used to explore further significant

difference due to treatment and sex. It was found (p < 0.05) that:

a. There is a significant difference between the mean achievement

scores of secondary school physics students taught using Guided

Discovery and Expository method in the achievement test (with

discovery method being more effective),.

b. There is a significant difference between the mean achievement

scores of male and female secondary school physics students in

the achievement test. Female students exposed to discovery

method achieved better than males treated with expository

method.

Males exposed to discovery method achieved better than females

treated with expository method. Females achieved better than males

irrespective of treatment.

The use of analysis of variance as a method of data analysis is

justifiable due to the equivalent groups used as sampled. The

generalizations of the study were limited, because the work had no

reliability estimate. Kuder Richardson‟s formula 20 (K – R 20) would

have been used in the reliability estimate. In addition, guided discovery

and expository method of instruction are traditional instructional

packages. Instead, one of the individualized instructional methods

should have been used which is an innovative method to compare with

the traditional method. An example of such method is the LAP.

Nnadi (2001) carried out a study on misconceptions in Electric

Circuits, Mechanics and Optics in secondary schools of Enugu State. A

sample of 400 students was drawn using a sample survey, the

population being 550 physics students in Enugu East LGA. A twenty-

seven item instrument in the form of objectives was used for data

collection, after being face validated by three experts each in

measurement and evaluation, and Science Education in Enugu State

University of Science and Technology (ESUT). The test blue print was

also formulated. The reliability estimate of 0.80 was determined using

test and re-test method.

At 5% level of significance, the hypotheses were analyzed using

Z – test. The research questions were tested using mean and standard

deviations. The purposes of the study were to:

1. Identify misconceptions which students had in electric circuits –

current (flow and conservation), potential difference and

resistance (parallel and series).

2. Identify misconceptions which students had in mechanic – force

(friction, gravitational and normal reaction), motion (circular,

relative and projectile), velocity, acceleration and momentum.

3. Identify misconceptions which students had in optics (formation

of images and shadows, rectilinear propagation of light,

reflection of light from curved mirrors, reflection of light from

curved mirrors, reflection of light from plane mirrors, refraction

of light through prisms).

4. Compare the performances of boys and girls in the area of other

to determine the degree of students‟ misconceptions.

5. Compare the performance of urban and rural students to

determine the degree of their misconceptions.

The results revealed that:

a. Misconceptions of boys and girls differ in electric circuits,

mechanics and optics.

b. Boys misconceive less than girls.

c. Misconception does not depend on location.

The instrument is indirectly measuring achievement in physics

and should therefore have been content validated, since there was table

of specification. The reliability of the study should not have been

determined using test re-test method, as the items in the instrument

appeared in clusters – electric circuits, mechanics and optics. Kuder

Richardson‟s formula – 20 would have been used to determine the

internal consistency of the instrument. Meanwhile, the purpose

numbers 1, 2 and 3 of the study were not adequately addressed by the

findings. That is, the misconceptions of students did not appear in the

work. Also, the instrument sought to measure performance, but it

failed to have a provision for affective and psychomotor domains. The

researcher sought to short list the alternative conceptions of the physics

students in electric circuits, mechanics and optics. He did not use LAP

in facilitating achievement and retention of physics.

Nworgu and Nworgu (1998) carried out a study of problem –

centered – laboratory investigative approach to science practical in

secondary schools, pilot study 1 (Biology),using a sample of 160 SSI

Biology students from two secondary schools in Nsukka Urban in a

two-group no-control design. The instrument used for the study was a

cognitive achievement test, with essay and objective parts. The content

validity of the test was ensured by basing the practical on the subject

content. For the reliability of the study, the instrument was

administered to 30 SSI Biology students from a school not involved in

the final sample. A reliability estimate of 0.86 for the essay part was

determined using Kendall‟s coefficient of concordance, while for the

objective part, a coefficient of internal consistency of 0.91 was

obtained using Kuder Richardson formula – 20.

In control of extraneous variables, it was only the teacher

variable with content and material variables that was controlled. The

data got were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance. Results

indicated (at p < 0.05) that although gender was not a significant factor

in the cognitive achievement of the students, the method showed up a

significant factor in favour of the problem-based laboratory

investigative approach.

The only problem of the study is in controlling extraneous

variables. A quasi experimental design of this sort should control other

variables like experimenter variable, initial group differences, etc. In

addition, since there were no initial equal ability groups, the use of

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) limited the generalization of the

findings. Instead, analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) should have

been used in analyzing the hypotheses. The present study utilized

ANCOVA in its analysis.

Okafor (1998), in a study on factor associated with effective

learning of physics in Anambra State Secondary Schools, used a

sample of 480 students and 24 teachers that were randomly drawn from

Awka, Aguata, Ogidi, Onitsha and Nnewi Education Zones. The

physics performance test consisted of thirty physics multiple choice-

test items, with twenty items, testing students‟ mathematical ability,

while the rest of the questions did not involve mathematics, after being

content validated.

The research questions 1-3 were analyzed using simple

percentage method, while the null hypothesis was analyzed using

Pearson‟s product moment correlation coefficient (p < 0.05), the results

revealed that physics students had high percentage pass, especially in

distinction and credit grades when the

a. students were taught physics by qualified teachers.

b. teaching of physics was done mostly by practical method, and

c. physics students have positive attitude towards the subject.

Also, it was found that there is a positive correlation coefficient

of 0.48 between mathematical abilities of students and their

achievement in physics. The generalization of the findings of the

above study have been hampered by none indication of reliability

estimate which would have been determined using Kuder Richardson‟s

formula – 20.

The relative retention effects of three modes of an advance

organizers on learning physics was investigated by Egbugara (1988).

The topic, „photoelectric effect‟, was chosen as the learning materials

on the basis of its unfamiliarity to the students, while another topic –

„How can atom give out light‟? was selected as the advance organizer

and was prepared in a prose form. The subjects were 109 (77 boys and

32 girls) form IV physics students drawn from 3 mixed schools located

in Ibadan. Intact classes were randomly assigned to the experimental

conditions – prose organizer, and combination organizer. The control

received a placebo treatment on the atom – a passage of comparable

strength with the advance organizer, but which lacked its context scope

and specificity.

The instrument used was a 25 – item multiple choice objective

question paper. The use of analysis of variance in the analysis of the

data does not seem appropriate. Random assignment of subjects was

not done. The use of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) would have

been more appropriate, because of the use of intact classes. This would

have served not only to take care of any initial differences across the

groups, but also to increase the precision of the experiment. “There is

no justification for the author in running one-way ANOVA with

organizer and sex as factors. The one way ANOVA was necessary,

since the main effect of the organizer appeared in the two-way

ANOVA”?

In a pretest-post test experiment design, Olarewaju and Balogun

(1985) evaluated the effects of prior knowledge of instructional

objectives on student‟s achievement in the revised edition of the

Nigerian Integrated Science Project. The sample comprised 291 form 1

students from 9 secondary schools in Ondo State. The instrument was

a 36-item Integrated Science Achievement Test (ISAT), with a split

half reliability estimate of 0.99 and Kuder – Richardson Formula – 20

reliability estimate of 0.91. The data were analyzed using ANCOVA

with the pretest scores serving as the covariate. The result showed that

prior knowledge of instrumental objectives facilitated learning of

Integrated Science.

That study was an attempt to evaluate the effects of prior

knowledge of instructional objectives on students‟ achievement in

Integrated Science using experimental design. The use of ANCOVA

was desirable since it would help in controlling for any initial

differences between the experimental and control groups. However,

failure to have control for the teacher-effect constituted one major

limitation to the study. It would have also been interesting to see the

effects of the treatment variable on retention and interests of students

rather than restricting the criterion or dependent measure only to

achievement.

In another study, Okebukola and Adeniyi (1987), investigated

the influence of level of resource utilization on students‟ achievement

in and attitude towards science. The subjects were 21 Biology graduate

teachers from 18 secondary schools in South Western Nigeria. The

instruments used in collecting data were student‟s questionnaire which

elicited information on some demographic variables such as the time

allotted for the teaching of Biology, the proportion of time actually

spent on lesson related activities.

a. A section of students‟ achievement dealt with the frequency of

use of Biology Laboratory materials and has an internal

consistency estimate of 0.81. The section D with an internal

consistency estimate of 0.79 sought information of the frequency

and quality of use of extra laboratory resources in illustrating

biological concepts.

b. Teachers questionnaire, with sections parallel to those in the

students‟ questionnaire, has the internal consistency estimates

reported for section B, C and D of the teachers‟ questionnaire as

0.69, 0.81 and 0.76 respectively.

c. Science laboratory interactory category system (SLIC) for

teachers was a 15 category observational schedule developed for

assessing specific behaviours of teachers during laboratory

activities.

d. The science laboratory interaction category system (SLIC) and

e. Biology Achievement Test BAT consisted of a 50 – item

multiple choice standardized test on Biology development by

JAMB (1983) with a K-R 20 coefficient of 0.86.

f. Science Attitude Question (SAQ) – a twenty – item attitude

questionnaire had a reported Cronbach reliability of 0.83.

In analyzing the data, the Pearson r and step-wise multiple

regression analysis were used. Results showed that out of the nine

resource utilization variables, only six made significant contributions to

Biology achievement. The greatest contribution was made by the

frequency of use of laboratory resources and then quality of use of

teaching time. Teacher‟s total time on teaching task and frequency of

use of extra laboratory resources recorded the lowest impact. In the

case of attitude, the quality of use of laboratory resources was top on

the list followed by frequency of use of laboratory resources, while use

of guest teachers/outside experts made the least independent

contribution.

Although the work focused on the relationship between some

resource utilization variables, achievement and attitudes in Biology, it

did not concern itself with the effects specific resource materials could

exert on student‟s learning. The study did not focus on the use of LAP

in facilitating achievement and retention.

Eze (1992) studied the effect of study questions as advance

organizer of students‟ achievement, retention and interest in Integrated

Science. The researcher used intact classes. 356 JSSI and II students

randomly drawn from five schools in Isiuzo LGA of Enugu State

served as the subject for the study. Man-in-space achievement test

(MISAT) and man-in-space interest scale (MISIS) were developed and

validated for data collection. Two-way analysis of covariance was used

for data analysis. The result showed that advance organizer had

significant effect on the pupils achievement and interest. The

difference between the pupils mean post achievement and retention test

scores was not significant. Advance organizer and ability level

interaction effect was significant only with respect to achievement but

non-significant for retention and interest. It is pertinent, therefore, to

study the effect of instructional packages that would address the issue

of achievement and retention in physics.

Ezeudu (1995) carried out a study, captioned, Effects of concept

maps on students‟ achievement, interest and retention in selected units

of organic chemistry in Nigeria, using a sample of 411 students, who

were picked through a multi-stage sampling technique. The instrument

for the study included Achievement and Retention Test in Organic

Chemistry (ARTOC) with 30 items and organic chemistry interest scale

(OCIS) with 20 items. Content validity was done on ARTOC, while

face validity was done on OCIS. The reliability of ARTOC using

Kuder Richardson‟s formula 20 was 0.86, while that of OCIS was 0.79

using Cronbach‟s alpha coefficient. It was found, after due control of

extraneous variables and data analyses, that:

1. Concept mapping had a significant effect on students‟ overall

achievement, retention and interest in organic chemistry.

2. Concept mapping was more effective than the conventional

methods in items of students‟ achievement, retention and interest

in organic chemistry.

3. There was significant difference in the effects of concept

mapping and conventional method relative to retention in organic

chemistry.

4. Concept mapping was superior to conventional methods in

enhancing retention and interest in organic chemistry concepts.

5. Gender was consistently insignificant relative to achievement,

retention and interest. So both male and female students

performed, retained and showed interest in organic chemistry.

6. Significant interaction due to concept mapping and gender was

found with respect to achievement but not with interests and

retention.

The design of the above study is good. Conversely, the study

compared the effects of selected traditional instructional packages on

achievement, interest and retention in chemistry. The study failed to

used any of the individualized instructional packages like LAP.

Nworgu (1990) sought to evaluate the effects of resource

material type of students‟ cognitive achievement, retention and interest

in Integrated Science. Two resource material types, whose effects were

evaluated, were used. These were standard and locally improvised

resource material types. It was hypothesized that the main effects due

to resource material type, sex and the interaction of the two will not be

significant (p < 0.05) relative to students cognitive achievement,

retention and interest in Integrated Science. A pre-test post test, quasi-

experimental design involving 3 intact groups was used. The subjects

were 420 JSSI students drawn from Nsukka Urban. In each school, 3

intact classes were randomly drawn and assigned to the three treatment

conditions. Regular teachers did the teaching during the normal period

for the subject in the school‟s time – table. Two instruments – the

Achievement and Retention, and Interest in Integrated Science

(ARTIS) and the Integrated Science Interest Scale (ISIS) were used for

data collection. A 3 x 2 analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used

in analyzing the results. The results indicated that resource materials

type was consistently significant relative to all the three dependent

measures. Sex showed a significant effect in favour of females on

students‟ cognitive achievement and retention, but no such difference

was found in relation to interest in Integrated Science. The instruments

were adequately validated. Also, extraneous variables were effectively

controlled. The use of ANCOVA is equally proper as it took care of

initial differences across the groups. Also it helps in increasing the

precision of the instrument, but it seems that the researcher‟s use of

only form one students is not proper, especially at this stage of their

exposure to Integrated Science to measure their interest, retention and

achievement. The researcher would have used forms II and III. There

was no way the use of resource material types alone can facilitate

learning. It boiled down that a method of teaching was employed

which in most cases is expository. An individualized learning package

could have been employed to facilitate achievement and retention.

Ndukwe (2000) in an effort to improve science instruction

carried out a pre-test post-test control group quasi experimental design

on immediate achievement and retention in an expository versus

project-centered methods of instruction in Biology. The students were

randomly assigned to either treatment or control groups. 50 multiple

choice objective test called Biology Achievement Test, BAT was

constructed and validated. The reliability of the instrument was

obtained using Brown formula. For test of retention, (BAT) was

administered to both treatment groups 6 weeks and 4 days after the

treatment was terminated. It was found that students taught with

project centered approach made significant higher scores (p < 0.01) on

the post test than the students taught with expository teaching method.

The result did not reveal any significant difference when the two

groups were compared on the retention test.

A sample of 47 students posed a limitation to the generalization

of the study. Also, the researcher used coeducational secondary

schools, instructional package types and gender as independent

variables in the study, but they may have interacted through the use of

coeducational secondary schools. The control of extraneous variable

like the class interaction, was not specified. In analysis, the investigator

used only t-test and did not find the effect of sex in achievement and

retention in Biology. ANCOVA would have been used in analyses of

the hypothesis formulated for the study, since it would help in

controlling for any initial differences between the two groups.

Afuwapa and Oludipe (2008) carried out a study in a College of

Education in the South – Western part of Nigeria between 2003 and

2005 on Gender differences in integrated science achievement among

pre-service teachers in Nigeria, using 253 pre-service integrated science

teachers (126 men and 127 women). The data was collected from the

examination scores of these pre-service integrated science teacher over

3 years. They found, after data analysis, using mean and standard

deviation to answer the research question and t-test to test the

hypotheses that for each year the male students had higher mean scores

than the female students. However, these differences were not

statistically significance in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The exception

was in 2003, where the difference was statistically significant (p <

0.05).

The researcher used pre-service teacher instead of secondary

school student. The control of extraneous variables was not specified.

In analysis, the investigator used only t-test and did not find the effect

of gender on retention in Biology. ANCOVA would have been used in

analysis of the hypothesis formulated.

From the literature available to the researcher, there is no

consensus as to whether gender influences achievement in science or

not. Therefore, the present study investigated the influence of gender

in the achievement of biology concepts using the Learning Activity

Package in order to throw more light on the issue of gender and science

achievement.

Student Ability Level and Performance in Science

Another related factor to achievement in science is the ability

level of the students. According to Cronbach (1974), the academic

achievement of students in a normal classroom is not always the same.

Some students perform very well and are regarded as high achievers,

some averagely and are regarded as middle achievers while others

perform very poorly and are known as low achievers. It has been

correctly observed that no two individuals are exactly alike in their

overall characteristic.

Normally, it will be expected that the high ability learners will

always achieve more than the average and low ability learners in most

schools subjects, but researches that were carried out indicated that this

is not always the case. This is shown by the study carried out by Okeke

(1986) which showed that there is indication that some students are

highly gifted but they do not achieve well in science. Alonge and

Agusiobo (1983) studied the effect of field work as a teaching strategy

on achievement in Biology. The result was significant for the above

average ability group, but not significant for the below average group.

Also, Bomide (1986), studied the factors that influence concept

development in the Nigerian Integrated Science Project. The result

showed that mental ability level, among others, is one of the factors.

Nzewi (1990) studied the effect of prior knowledge of

behavioural objectives and study questions on achievement in Biology.

The result showed that despite the ability level of the students, the

achievement of the students was significant. Ezeh (1992) worked on

the effects of advance organizers on student achievement, interest and

retention in Integrated Science. The students were grouped into low and

high ability levels. The result after analyzing with 2 x 2 analysis of co-

variance indicated that there is no significant difference between the

low and high ability groupings with regards to their interest level but

there is a significant difference between the high and low ability levels

with regards to their levels of performance, with the high ability groups

performing better.

Georgousi, Kampourakis and Tsaparlis (2001) carried out a

study on the physical – science knowledge and patterns of achievement

at the primary – secondary interface from nine urban and semi urban

Greek middle secondary schools, who were tested on part of their basic

physics and chemistry knowledge. The sample size was 976 seventh

and eighty grade students. The data was analyzed using mean

percentage scores and standard deviation. The result showed that only

128 students (13.1%) scored relatively well („able‟ students) and only

58 students (5.9%) scored well („top‟ students). Boy „able‟ and „top‟

students outnumbered and outscored „able‟ and „top‟ girls. The gender

gap especially in numbers increased with ability in favour of boys. The

above study used mean percentage for comparing gender and ability

levels. The researcher used only two levels „able‟ and „top‟. There was

no evidence of reliability test. These are some of the gaps that this

present study intend to cover the above literature reveals that the ability

levels of the students is an important factor on students‟ achievement in

other words, it is related to intelligence and there is no consistency on

the groups achievement using the various teaching methods and

strategies. This inconsistency on the achievement of students of various

ability levels calls for the need for this study, which investigated on the

effect of the Learning Activity Package (LAP) on the achievement and

retention of different ability levels.

Related Empirical Studies on Individualized Instruction and

Learning Activity Packages (LAP)

The following empirical studies have been carried out by some

researchers to investigate the effect of individualized instruction and

Learning Activity Package methods of instruction on students‟

performance with particular reference to science subjects. Tawari

(1986) worked on the relative effectiveness of two methods of teaching

science (Biology) at the Junior Secondary school level of education in

Nigeria. The methods investigated were the individualized and the

conventional (lecture method) approaches on students achievement.

The subjects for the study were a total of one hundred and forty form II

students selected from four arms of two mixed school types in Benin

City. The design used was the pre-test-post-test control group

experimental design. The instrument consisted of a performance rating

scale in biology which is a questionnaire and multiple – choice

objective type of achievement test. The questions for the pre-test and

post test were drawn from the concept taught which is the mammalian

skeleton. The raw scores from the subjects using the two methods on

both the experimental and control groups were analyzed using a

factorial analysis of co-variance. The result showed that the

individualized instruction strategy was significant over the

conventional approach in relation to the students‟ achievement. Tawari

in the study failed to indicate the particular type of individualized

instruction employed. Moreover, the researcher used each of the two

schools as both experimental and control, giving ways for

contamination since both the control and the experimental groups could

mix. There was no measure taken by the researcher to ensure

homogeneity of the two classes.

Burnisde (1991) carried out a study that investigated the

development, implementation and evaluation of a Learning Activity

Package on the use of computer. The Learning Activity Package

consisted of a self-paced word processing tool in the subject of

language arts, which was developed by the teachers in conjunction with

computer teaching specialists. The LAP developed was not done by

the teachers alone but in conjunction with the subject specialists. The

result showed that the LAP was effective for presenting the writing

tools using the computers. The result also showed that the students

enjoyed independent learning. Moreover there was no specification of

whether the subjects were homogenous or equivalent.

Igbanugo (1986) studied the effectiveness of individualizing

instruction through the diversification of learning opportunities. The

subjects were 20 undergraduates students of Baruch College of

Medicine in New York. The researcher developed a Learning Activity

Package on blood pressure which was developed and validated and was

used as treatment on the students. The result after the pre-test and post

test showed that all the students mastered the concept and the

objectives achieved with 80% achievement ass the criterion. In the

above study, the entire populations of 20 undergraduate students were

the experimental group and there were no control group. The researcher

did not use any other method of instruction, so as to compare with the

LAP. Moreover, the study did not take care of homogeneity of the

subjects, as they were selected from different classes; even though they

were more mature and were not of the same year. The study did not

specify the sexes involved in the investigation.

Smith (1989) worked on a comparative evaluation of three

teaching methods: the Socratic dialogue method, the lecture method,

and the personalized system of instruction (PSI). The class structures

for the three methods were 22 students, 24 students and 21 students in

that order. The instrument used for the study was a pre and post-test

assessment and a questionnaire that elicited response on the students‟

reaction and attitudes towards the three methods, administered at the

end of the post-test. The result showed that PSI was viewed more

positively by the students. The subjects treated with the PSI produced a

higher performance rating over the other two methods. The result of

the research just showed a higher rating of the PSI over the other two

methods together and no details of the other two methods were given.

However, Hwong (1993) investigated the effects of cooperative

and individualized learning on prospective elementary music teachers‟

achievement and attitudes. A total of 43 prospective music teachers

were used. The result revealed that cooperative method of instruction

enhances achievement more than individualized instruction. The

effectiveness of the co-operative learning may be due to the nature of

the subject matter which is music which involves unified effort for

efficient production.

Abu (1998) worked on the effectiveness of individualized and

lecture instructional methods of teaching Biology at the senior

secondary level of education in two schools in Zaria township of

Kaduna State of Nigeria. A total of 80 subjects were used in the

study, which were randomly selected. The instrument used for the

study were the multiple choice assessment tests and the pre/post

treatment tests. The t-test statistics was used to analyze the data

collected. The result showed that the individualized instructional

method (LAP) enhance the students‟ achievement in biology

irrespective of their previous academic standings. The study was only

confined to two schools in Zaria township and no attempt was made by

the researcher to control some extraneous variables that might have

constituted a threat to the validity of the study such as irregular

participation of the subjects and inter-group contamination. Mukalia

(2000) worked on computer and text-assisted programmed instruction

and students‟ cognitive preference styles as determinants of secondary

school achievement in heat related concepts in physics. The subjects

for the study were 284 senior secondary two physics students selected

from 6-distantly located co-educational schools in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Three instruments were used for data collection: achievement test in

physics, physics cognitive preference style inventory and locus of

control scale. The data collected were analyzed using analysis of

covariance (ANCOVA) and Scheeffe multiple range test as post-hoc

measure. The result revealed that the computer assisted instruction

group achieved significantly higher than the text-assisted programmed

instruction and conventional groups. However, there was no significant

main effect of gender on physics achievement (F(1) 283 = 1.979, P >

0.005). There were also significant interaction effects of treatment and

locus of control (F(2), 283 = 5.031, p < 0.05), cognitive preference style

and gender (F(3), 283 – 2.993, p <0.05) as well as treatment and cognitive

preference style, locus of control and gender (F3, 283 – 2.883, P < 0.05)

on physics achievement.

The fairly large sample used in the study would have enhanced the

generalization of the above findings. However, the fact that study is

limited only to heat – related concept in physics poses treat to its

generalizability.

Ajiboye and Ajitoni (2008) conducted a study on Effects of Full

and Quasi – Participatory Learning Strategies on Nigerian Senior

Secondary Students‟ Environmental Knowledge: Implications for

Classroom Practice. The study experimental with two modes of

participatory strategies, the full and quasi participatory modes in

teaching secondary schools students in Nigeria Some Environmental

Education Concepts. Three hundred and sixty students were randomly

selected from a secondary schools in Kwara State of Nigeria and

assigned to the three treatment groups. Five hypotheses were tested at

P <.05 level of significant. The study adopted a pre-test, post-test,

control, quasi experimental design, using a 3 x 3 x 2 factorial matrix.

Data collected were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)

to test the hypotheses and differences among groups, using pre-test

scores as covariates. The t-test and Scheffe Multiple Range test were

used where significant differences were observed to determine the

source of the significance. The Multiple Classification Analysis was

done to find out how each of the groups performed. The result revealed

that generally students taught using participatory modes performed

better than their counterparts in the conventional lecture group.

The fair large sample used for the study would have enhanced

the generalization of the above findings. However, the fact that study

was limited only to Environment Education Concepts poses treat to its

generalizability.

The above literature reveals that the various individualized

method of instruction have varied effect on achievement. This calls for

the need for this study, which investigated the effect of the Learning

Activity Package (LAP) on achievement and retention.

Summary of Literature Review

Evidence of poor achievement in science, perhaps as a result of

lack of the appropriate strategies for enhancing achievement and

retention, abounds. This is very eminent in biology as a foundational

course for subsequent studies in other science related courses. This

necessitates the exploration of techniques and strategies of attaining

meaningful Learning of Biology using Learning Activity Package

(LAP).

Review was also made on the lecture and individualized methods

of instruction, each of which has its merits and demerits. It is obvious

that no method is considered appropriate for all teaching situations and

for all science concepts, but methods that encourage the active

participation of the learner in the teaching – learning process are often

preferred to others. LAP is one of such methods.

Generally, the previous researches on the use of the

individualized methods of instruction so far reviewed (Tawari, 1986;

Igboanugu, 1986; Smith, 1989; Burnside, 1991, Hwong, 1993; Abu

1998; Mukaila, 2000, Ajiboye and Ajoton, 2008) have established the

efficacy of one type of individualized method of instruction on various

subjects. But in some of the reviewed literatures, the actual

individualized method used was not specified (Tawari, 1986). In other

literatures reviewed, the researcher did not compare the individualized

method of instruction with any other method (Igboanugo, 1986). There

is, however, an inconsistency on the effectiveness of the Learning

Activity Package relative to the conventional method (lecture method).

Tawari (1986), Burnside (1991), Smith (1989) and Igboanugo (1986)

found the individualized instruction more effective. Hwong (1993)

found the co-operative learning more effective than the individualized

method of instruction.

The literatures reviewed so far, investigated the effectiveness of

individualized method, and nothing specifically on the use of LAP.

Most of the studies were carried out in other subject areas like

physiology, psychology, computer, music and physics. Based on the

literature available to the researcher, it was only Abu (1998) that did a

study on biology using LAP to determine its effect on students

achievement in the Northern part of Nigeria (Zaira). The study did not

investigate the effect of LAP on students‟ retention in the topic of

instruction. Hence, this study examined the effect of a specific

individualized instruction methods known as Learning Activity

Package (LAP) on students achievement and retention among senior

secondary school students.

These gaps in knowledge have necessitated the present study

which has not only specified the type of individualized method

employed (that is LAP), but will also sought to verify the effect of

Learning Activity Package (LAP) on students‟ achievement and

retention in the area of Biology.

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter presents the general plan for carrying out the study.

Specifically, it describes the describes the design of study, area of the study,

population of the study, sample and sampling techniques, classification of

ability group, instrument for data collection, development of learning activity

package, validation and instrument, item analysis, reliability of instrument,

control of extraneous variables, experimental procedure, method of data

collection and method of data analysis.

Design of the Study

The design of the study was Quasi-Experimental Design of the

Pretest Posttest Non-equivalent Group Design (Campbell and Stanley,

1967). The design is often used in classroom experiments when

experimental and control groups are assembled as intact classes and no

possibility of randomization. Hence, intact classes were used and there

was no random assignment of research subjects. The design is

represented in the table below-

Table 1: Diagrammatic Representation of the Research Design

Group Pretest Treatment Posttest Retention

EG O1 X1 O2 O1

CG O1 X1 O2 O1

Where EG = Experimental Group

CG = Control Group

O1 = Pre Achievement Test

O2 = Post Achievement Test

O1 = Retention Test Scores

X1 = Experimental Treatment

X2 = control Treatment

Area of the Study

The study was conducted in Enugu Education Zone of Enugu

State. Enugu State is divided into six education zones – Awgu, Enugu,

Agbani, Udi, Nsukka and Obollo-Afor Zones. Enugu education zone is

divided into three local government areas, namely Enugu East, Enugu

North and Isi-Uzo Local Government Areas. The researcher used

Enugu education zone only to ensure that all the students in both

experimental and control groups share common environment.

Population of the Study

The population of the study comprised of all public co-

educational senior secondary school class two (SSII) students who were

offering biology in the three Local Government Areas in Enugu

Education Zone of Enugu State, year 2006. All together, there were

2022 students. The choice of SSII students was due to the fact that

“unit of life” is meant for SSII as contained in the Biology core

curriculum of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME, 1985) for

Senior Secondary Two (SSII). The choice of co-educational secondary

schools was that gender is a variable in the study.

Sample and Sampling Technique

The sample used for the study consisted of a total of 317 SSII

Biology students (157 males and 160 females) drawn out from 18 co-

educational secondary schools in Enugu education zone. This is

because gender is a factor in the study. The 18 co-educational schools

were purposively selected from 29 secondary schools in the zone.

From the 18 co-educational schools, four schools that had up to two or

more SSII classes were purposively selected. Two intact SSII classes

in each school, one intact class was assigned to Learning Activity

Package of instruction (LAP) while the other intact class was assigned

to lecture method of instruction. The selection of the classes for either

of the instructional methods was done through simple random sampling

(balloting).

Classification into Ability Groups

The subjects of the study were classified into three. The high,

average and low abilities. This was derived by finding the average

score of the subjects for the study in SSI Biology (that is the average of

first, second from 0 – 34% were classified as low ability group. Those

who scored from 35 to 67% as average ability group and 68% and

above were classified as high ability level.

Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument used for data collection was the Biology

Achievement Test (BAT) developed by the researcher. There were two

Biology Achievement Test with parallel questions/items. One of the

BATs was used as the pre-test and retention. The other was used as the

post-test. Each of the BAT was a forty item instrument, made up of

multiple choice questions/items with five response option A – E. The

multiple choice test was developed from the unit of senior secondary

Biology which as taught at the second year of senior secondary which

is the „Unit of Life‟. (See Appendices A, B, J and K for the pre-BAT,

post-BAT and marking schemes respectively).

Development of Learning Activity Package (LAP)

The Learning Activity Package (LAP) had its conception at the

Nova High School in Florid in 1970. it is a teacher – developed

strategy of individualization. (Cardarelli, 1972.). According to him,

the flexibility of the LAP program is well illustrated by the fact that

each individual teacher, and each school district that adopts the LAP

program, sets up a format that is unique, devised to meet specific needs.

Based on this the researcher developed the LAP used for the study

using the following components of LAP and the scope of the study.

- Topic and subtopics

- Rationale

- Behavioural Objectives

- Pretest

- Learning Activities

- Quizzes / Unit Activities

- Posttest

Topic and Subtopics

Each of the Learning Activity Package contain the topic under

study (i.e. the Unit of Life). This was further broken down into nits and

Subunits which form the subtopics. These units and subunits was

copied as they appear in SSII curriculum from the Ministry of

Education.

Rationale

Once the topic and subtopics (Unit and Subunits) were written,

the researcher then stated the rationale. This is a narrative statement

that is aimed at providing the student with the reason for studying the

topic or subtopics. This explains the relevance of the topic within the

frame work of the total curriculum of the students‟ everyday life on his

future life.

Behavioural Objectives

This is stated by the researcher in terms of what the learner will

be able to do upon completion of each package. The researcher stated

the objective to communicate the intended goals to the learner, these

was written in a simple language. The domain, the number and the

levels of performance of the objectives are considered by the researcher

and are all dictated by the content.

Pretest

Based on the content the researcher also stated some questions to

be the pretest. This is a self-evaluation section that will enable the

student to diagnose weaknesses ahead of time, directly routing the

student to necessary activities that will ensure a more positive,

rewarding learning experience.

Learning Activity

In this section of the package the researcher tried to provide

diverse learning activities that will help the learner to reach the already

stated behavioral objectives. It is in this section that the learner is

introduced to the content, the various activities that will be carried out

by the learner, the materials needed for the activities and the procedure

for carrying out the activities.

Quizzes / Unit of Activity

Based on the Learning Activities of the content, the researcher

posed some questions, in forms of Unit Activity, to find out the extent

to which the unit objectives have been achieved. This also provided the

learner with feedback on their progress.

Posttest

In this study, the researcher administered the posttest at the end

of the LAP, this is to evaluate the fulfillment of all the objectives of the

package developed by the researcher. The posttest used in this study

was used as an instrument to measure the effectiveness of LAP and for

data collection. (See Appendix G) for a sample of Learning Activity

Package.

The LAP used in this study was developed in the topic – „Unit of

Life‟, which is in Senior Secondary School two (SSII) Biology. The

LAP contains all the necessary information that will guide the students

in self learning. The students are expected to read through the package

step by step at their own pace. The students are required to complete

each package and make their own observation. The students are free to

meet the teacher for guidance during and after the lesson period.

The topic „Unit of Life‟ was later broken down into subtopics

which were used to develop the package. The subtopics include –

1. Form in which living cells exist.

2. Cell as part of multicellular organism.

3. The cell theory.

4. The cell structure and function of the cell components.

5. Differences and similarities between plant and animal cells.

6. Diffusion.

7. Osmosis.

8. Plasmolysis.

9. Haemolysis.

Each of the sub topics contain the rationales, behavioural

objectives, pretest, learning activities and quizzes/unit activities. A

sample of the LAP is contained in Appendix G.

Teacher’s Guide

For uniformity of assessing all the learner‟s progress during the

use of LAP in all the sampled schools, the researcher provided a

teacher‟s guide which contains all the solutions to the questions in the

Learning Activities and the Unit Activities. This, the teacher used to

move round as the learners are busy working with the LAP. (See

Appendix H for a sample of the Teachers‟ Guide).

Validation of the Instrument

BATs were subjected to both face and content validations.

Face Validation

For face validation, the instrument was given to three experts,

one in Measurement and Evaluation and two in Science Education, all

from Faculty of Education, Enugu State University of Science

Technology, Enugu. The instrument was validated in terms of clarity

of the questions asked, proper wording of the items, appropriateness

and adequacy of the question/items to the students level of

understanding and experience and agreement of items with the Test

Blue Print. (See Appendix M).

Consequently, the validatiors made some comments which

formed the basis for either modifying or rejecting some of the items.

After the validation, the instrument was overhauled completely to

reflect the validators contributions. (See Appendix D for the

validator‟s comments).

Content Validation

To ensure the content validity, Test Blue Print was developed by

the researcher. The Test Blue Print was used to determine the number

of items to be generated from a particular subunit. To do this, the

researcher took into consideration the relative scope of the subunits.

Thus subunits that are large in scope attracted more questions than

those ones that are relatively small in scope in all, a total of 40 multiple

choice questions were generated from the subunits. The test blue prints

for both pre-and post – bats are shown as Appendix C.

Item Analysis

Item Analysis was carried out for the fifty multiple choice items

(using score obtained from trial testing). This was to ensure the quality

of the individual test items that make up the test, hence the

standardization of the test items. The criteria for selecting the forty

items of the Pre-BAT and Post-BAT were based on the

recommendation by Mehren and Lehmann (1978) which include:

a. Possession of Facility Index of 0.20 – 0.70

b. Possession of positive item discrimination index of 0.10 and

above.

c. Possession of positive distractor index (See Appendices N & O

for item Analysis). At the end of which 40 item were finally

selected.

Reliability of the Instrument

The reliability of the instrument was established through trial

testing of the instrument of a group of SSII students from New Haven

Boys‟ Secondary School, Enugu (used only for trial testing). The pre-

BAT and post BAT which were parallel tests were administered to the

group of 40 SSII students on the same day for coefficient of

equivalence and internal consistency, and two weeks after the Pre-Bat

was administered for stability. The scores obtained were used to

establish the reliability.

Three forms of reliability were established.

a. The co-efficient of equivalence was established for the pre-BAT and

post-BAT. This was done using the scores obtained from the trial

testing of the two forms of the instrument on the students. The

rationale for establishing this form of reliability is to ensure that the

two forms of BAT contained items of comparable strength. The

scores that were obtained were correlated using Pearson‟s Product

Moment Correlation C0-efficient. A correlation co-efficient of 0.79

was obtained for the instrument; this showed that the instrument was

reliable for the study. (See Appendix F1).

b. The internal consistency of the Pre BAT and Post BAT were also

determined using Kuder-Richardson formula 20 (k – R 20). The

choice of K-R 20 was influenced by the fact that it is most suitable in

multiple choice items with right or wrong answers (Borg and Gail,

1979). It is also suitable for test items that are dichotomously scored.

Using the Kuder – Richardson formula 20 (K – R 20) internal

consistency co-efficient of 0.83 and 0.73 were obtained for the Pre

BAT and Post BAT respectively, showing the instrument reliable for

the study. (See Appendix E I and II).

c. The stability of the Pre-BAT used for Pretest and retention was

determined using Test – Retest Method. The Pre-BAT was

administered two times within 2 weeks interval. The scores that

were obtained were correlated using Pearson‟s Product Moment

Correlation Coefficient. A correlation co-efficient of 0.92 was

obtained for the instrument. (See Appendix FII).

Control of Extraneous Variables

The following measures were adopted by the researcher to

ensure that extraneous variables which might affect the result of the

study were controlled.

i. Teacher Variable

To control the errors which may arise as a result of teacher

difference, the researcher organized one week pre-experimental

conference for the regular Biology teachers of the classes selected from

sampled schools for the study. The conference helped in establishing a

common instructional standard among the Biology teachers. All the

topics for the study were treated in details during the conference using

the LAP and the lecture method lesson notes. The teacher participants

were allowed to teach another class which was not the sampled classes

in their school using LAP and the teacher‟s guide (see Appendix P).

The researcher used the opportunity of the conference to detect

individual problems of the teachers that may introduce errors to the

study. The researcher emphasized that everyone involved in the study

will adhere strictly to the specifications of the LAP to ensure

uniformity and to use the lecture method as written by the researcher.

The regular teachers conducted the experiment in their individual

schools and classes. This was regularly monitored by the researcher to

ensure that teachers did not deviate from the normal procedure of

instruction agreed upon.

ii. Instructional Situation Variable

To ensure that instructional situation is the same for all the

classes in all the selected schools for the study, teaching and testing

were conducted in all the SSII classes in each school. However, the

data for the study was restricted only to the intact classes selected. This

was to avoid Hawthorne Effect: a situation in which the research

subjects‟ behaviours are affected not y treatment parse, but by their

knowledge of participation in the study and Novelty effect: a situation

where there is increased interest, motivation or participation on the part

of the research subjects because they are doing something different.

iii. Inter-Group Variable

To eliminate the errors of non-equivalence do to non-

randomization of the research subjects, analysis of covariance

(ANCOVA) was employed for data analysis to correct the error of

initial differences in ability levels among the research subjects.

iv. Subject Interactions

The two teaching methods were used for each school. The

teacher minimized subject‟s interaction by:

* Ensuring that the board was cleaned immediately after the

teaching.

* Ensuring that there were teachers in all the SSII classes before

commencing the teaching. This helped to reduce wandering of

the students.

Experimental Procedure / Administration of Instrument

The following procedures were adopted in the administration of

the instruments.

(a) Pre-Test Session

Before the treatment, the research subjects were given a pretest.

The test was administered by the regular Biology teachers in the

sampled schools who have undergone training. The scripts were

marked by the researcher. The pre-test was used to –

* determine the students‟ initial knowledge of the materials they

would learn later;

* determine the comparability of the two groups (experimental and

control) with respect to their achievement in the pretest scores;

(b) Treatment

The main treatment for the study was the teaching of the three

sub-units of the Unit of life to senior secondary II Biology students,

using the two teaching methods (the LAP and the Lecture Method),

they carried out the activities. The experimental group was taught

using the LAP wile the control group was taught suing the lecturer

method.

The Experimental Group

The experimental group was subjected to the Learning Activity

Package program. The LAP which contained the introduction and the

main objectives were clearly spelt out for each topic. The frames and

various activities were itemized for the subjects to carry out. The

subjects were given the LAP program, each subject was required to

carry out the activities on his or her own using the concept of self-

pacing. The subjects were advised to consult their teachers when

necessary to discuss any difficulties relating to the concept under study.

The teacher participants were instructed by the researcher to have a

one-to-one conference with each of the subjects, attending to their

problems when necessary but not teaching them (See Appendix G for

the LAP).

The Control Group

The lecture method was used in teaching the control group in the

sample schools. In this method, the teachers verbalized the relevant

concepts and principles during the lesson. The students watched and

listened attentively, taking down relevant notes (See Appendix 1 for the

lesson notes).

The teaching of both experimental and control groups was done

during the normal school biology periods, using the lesson notes and

the LAP prepared by the researcher. During the period of the

experiment, the researcher paid regular and unschooled visits to the

sample schools to ensure that the participating teachers carried out

instructions strictly as contained in both the LAP and lesson notes.

(c) Post Test Session

After the treatment, the post – BAT was administered to the

subjects (both the control and experimental groups). The scripts (both

pre – and post tests) were marked by the researcher and the students‟

score were recorded.

(d) The Retention Test

Two weeks after the post-BAT, the retention test was

administered and as indicated earlier the pre-BAT was used as the

retention test.

Method of Data Collection

The pre-BAT was administered to the subjects before the

treatment which lasted for five weeks. At the end of the treatment, a

parallel test (post BAT) was administered. The scores for both the

experimental and control group were recorded accordingly. The test

items in both the pre-test, post-test and retention test were scored one

mark each. The maximum mark was 40 while the lowest mark was

zero (0) (See Appendices J and K for the marking schemes).

Method of Data Analysis

The researcher used mean and standard deviation to analyze data

and provide answers to the research questions. Mean and standard

deviation were used because mean is the most reliable measure to

central tendency. Also the standard deviation is the most reliable

estimate of variability (Nworgu, 1991).

Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the

hypothesis formulated for the study at 0.05 level of significance.

ANCOVA was used in other to take care of the error of initial

difference in the ability levels among the research subjects. The pre-

test scores were used as covariates for achievement and for retention.

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

This Chapter presents the relevant data for answering the

research questions and for testing the hypotheses. The analysis and

results are presented in tables according to the research question and

hypotheses as shown below.

Research Question One

What are the mean achievement and standard deviation scores of

SSII Biology students, when taught the unit of life with Learning

Activity Package (LAP) and those taught the same topic using lecture

method?

Table 2

Mean achievement and standard deviation scores of students

taught the unit of life with LAP and lecture method.

N = 317

GROUP MEAN SD N

LAP Pre test

Post test

Gain Score

12.05

22.21

10.16

7.15

5.91

160

Lecture

Method

Pre test

Post test

Gain Score

9.45

16.37

6.92

5.63

5.23

157

As shown in Table 2 above the mean scores of students taught

Unit of Life using LAP were 12.05 and 22.21 respectively in pretest

and post test, with standard deviation of 7.15 and 5.91. On the other

hand, the control group had the mean score of 9.45 and 16.37 and

standard deviation of 5.63 and 5.23 respectively in the pretest and post

test.

Table 2 also reveals that the LAP group got a gain score of 10.

16, while the lecture group had a gain score of 6.92. The LAP group

differed with the lecture method group in the mean Biology

Achievement gain score by 3.24. This indicates that students taught

with LAP achieved higher than students taught with lecture method.

However, the standard deviation scores of the students in the Post test

for the LAP group was 5.91 while for the lecture group it was 5.23,

indicating that the students individual scores were more clustered

around the mean with lecture method than with the LAP.

Research Question Two

What are the mean retention and standard deviation scores of

SSII Biology students taught the unit of life with LAP and those taught

the same topic using lecture method?

Table 3

Mean retention and standard deviation scores of students taught

the nit of Life with LAP and lecture method.

N = 317

GROUP MEAN SD N

LAP Post test

Retention test

Gain Score

22.21

22.95

.74

5.91

5.49

160

Lecture

Method

Post test

Retention test

Gain Score

16.36

14.96

-1.43

5.23

4.85

157

Table 3 above indicates that the LAP group obtained mean scores

of 22.21 and 22.95 in the post test and retention test respectively, with

standard deviation of 5.91 and 5.49. On the other hand the lecture method

group obtained mean scores of 16.36 and 14.96 in the post test and

retention test respectively with standard deviation of 5.23 and 4.85.

Therefore students taught with Learning Activity Package (LAP)

had a gain score of .74 while the lecture method group had a gain score -

1.43. The gain score of the LAP group being higher than the lecture

method groups shows that the LAP group retained higher than the lecture

method group. However, the standard deviation for the student in the

LAP and lecture method groups in the retention test are 5.49 and 4.85,

indicating that there are more extreme score in the LAP group while the

scores of the students in the lecture group appear to be more clustered

around the mean.

Research Question Three

What are the mean achievement and standard deviation scores of male

and female SSII Biology Achievement Test (BAT) when taught the Unit of

Life with LAP?

Table 4

Mean achievement and standard deviation scores of male and female

students in post-BAT.

N = 317

SEX MEAN SD n.(cases)

Male

Female

20.11

18.53

5.60

6.84

157

160

Table 4 shows the difference in mean scores of male and female

students in post Biology achievement test on unit of lie. Male students‟

achievement score was 20.11 while that of the female counter part was

18.53. This shows that the male students generally achieved higher than the

female students in the post test. Similarly, the standard deviations for the

male and female students are 5.60 and 6.84 respectively, indicating that the

individual scores of the male students are more clustered around the mean

than those of their female counterparts that had more extreme scores.

Research Question Four

What are the mean retention and standard deviation scores of the

male and female SSII Biology students in BAT when taught the Unit of

Life with LAP?

Table 5

Mean retention and standard deviation scores of male and female

students

N = 317

SEX MEAN SD n.(cases)

Male

Female

20.01

17.99

5.92

6.99

157

160

Table 5 shows the differences in the mean scores of male and

female students in the retention test on the Unit of Life. Male students‟

retention score was 20.01 while that of the female counterpart was

17.99. This shows that the male students generally retained more than

their female counterpart. Similarly, the standard deviations for the

male and female students were 5.92 and 6.99 respectively indicating

that the individual scores of the male students were more closely

related to their mean retention scores than those of their male

counterparts.

Research Question Five

What are the interaction between the teaching strategies and

ability levels of SSII Biology students in their meant achievement and

standard deviation scores, when taught the unit of Life?

Table 6

The mean achievement and standard deviation scores of SSII

students in the Post BAT showing the interaction between the etaching

strategies and different abilities when taught the Unit of Life.

N = 317

GROUP STATE HIGH AVERAGE LOW OVERALL

Treatment Mean

SD

n

29.71

2.13

14

24.24

4.90

37

20.55

5.60

109

22.20

5.91

160

Control Mean

SD

n

31.00

1.41

2

22.18

5.63

28

14.84

3.71

127

16.36

5.53

157

Overall Mean

SD

n

29.88

2.06

16

23.35

5.29

65

17.48

5.47

238

19.31

6.30

317

Table 6 reveals the mean achievement scores of high, average

and low ability students in the treatment group as 29.71, 24.24 and

20.55 with standard deviations of 2.13, 4.90 and 5.60 respectively. For

the control group the mean scores were 31.00, 22.18 and 14.84 for the

high, average and low ability students with standard deviations of 1.41,

5.63 and 3.71 respectively.

This shows that in the high ability group the control group

achieved better than the treatment group but in the average and low

ability group the treatment group achieved better than the control

group. But within the treatment group, the high ability group achieved

better than the average and low ability students. The standard

deviations shows that there are more extreme scores in the low ability

groups of the treatment and average ability group of the control group,

while the scores in the other ability groups appeared to cluster around

the means. The table also reveals that the overall mean achievement

scores of high, average and low ability students in both treatment and

control groups were 29.86, 23.35 and 17.48 with standard deviations of

2.06, 5.29 and 5.47 respectively. Thus irrespective of the teaching

method used, the high ability students seemed to achieve better and

their average ability counterparts, who in turn seemed to achieve better

the than low ability students in BAT. The standard deviation however

shows that there are more extreme scores in low ability group than in

the average ability group, while the scores in the high ability group

appeared to be the most clustered around the mean.

Research Questions Six


ability levels of SSII Biology students in their mean retention and

standard deviation scores when taught the Units of Life?

Table 7

Mean retention and standard deviation scores of SSII students

with different abilities showing the interaction between teaching

strategies when taught the Unit of Life.

N = 317

GROUP STATE HIGH AVERAGE LOW OVERALL

Treatment Mean

SD

n

29.50

3.67

14

24.65

4.32

37

21.53

5.29

109

22.95

5.49

160

Control Mean

SD

n

27.00

4.24

2

20.11

6.39

28

13.63

3.21

127

14.96

4.85

157

Overall Mean

SD

n

29.19

3.69

16

22.69

5.73

65

17.28

5.83

236

18.99

6.54

317

Table 7 reveals the mean retention scores of high, average and

low ability students in the treatment group as 29.50, 24.65 and 21.53

with standard deviation of 3.67, 4.32 and 5.29 respectively. On the

other hand, the mean retention scores for the control group were 27.00,

20.11 and 13.63 with the standard deviation of 4.24, 6.39 and 3.21

respectively. This means that for all the ability levels, students who

were taught the Unit of life using the LAP had higher retention in the

BAT than the counter parts that were taught using the lecture method.

The standard deviation shows that there are more extreme scores in the

low ability group of the treatment and average ability group of the

control group while the scores in the other ability groups appear to

cluster around the mean. The table also shows that the overall mean

retention scores of high, average and low ability students in both

treatment and control groups were 29.19, 22.69 and 17.28 with the

standard deviation of 3.69, 5.73 and 5.73 and 5.83 respectively,

showing that the high ability group retain better than their average

ability counterparts who, in turn retain better than low ability students,

irrespective of the teaching method used. The standard deviation,

however revealed that scores in the low ability group are more extreme

than the average ability group, while the standard deviation of the high

ability group revealed their scores to be in clusters.

Research Question Seven


gender of SSII Biology students in their mean achievement and


Table 8

Mean achievement and standard deviation scores of SSII

students showing the interaction between teaching strategies with

gender when taught the Unit of Life.

N = 317

GROUP STATISTICS MALE FEMALE OVERALL

Treatment Mean

SD

n

22.93

5.10

80

21.49

6.57

80

22.21

5.91

16

Control Mean

SD

n

17.18

4.51

77

15.56

5.75

80

16.36

5.23

157

Overall Mean

SD

n

20.11

5.60

157

18.53

6.84

160

19.31

6.30

317

Table 8 reveals the mean achievement scores of male and female

students in the treatment group as 22.93 and 21.49 with standard

deviation of 5.10 and 6.57 respectively. For the control group the mean

scores were 17.18 and 15.56 for the male and female students with

standard deviations of 4.51 and 5.75 respectively.

This shows that both the male and female students of the

treatment group achieved better than their counterparts in the control

group. But within the treatment group, the male students achieved

better than their female counterparts. The standard deviations show

that there are extreme scores with more in the female groups of both

treatment and control groups. The table also revealed that the overall

mean achievement scores of male and female students in both treatment

and control groups were 20.11 and 18.53 with standard deviations of

5.60 and 6.84 respectively. Thus irrespective of the teaching method

used, the male students seemed to achieve better than their female

counterparts in BAT. The standard deviation shows extreme scores,

with more extreme scores in the female group than in male group.

Research Question Eight

What are the interactions between the teaching strategies and

gender of SSII Biology students in their mean retention and standard

deviation scores when taught the Unit of Life?

Table 9

Mean retention and standard deviation score of SSII students

showing the interaction between teaching strategies with gender when

taught the Unit of Life.

N = 317

GROUP STATISTICS MALE FEMALE OVERALL

Treatment Mean

SD

n

23.91

4.45

80

21.99

6.24

80

22.95

5.49

160

Control Mean

SD

n

15.96

4.30

77

13.99

5.17

80

14.96

4.85

157

Overall Mean

SD

n

20.01

5.91

157

17.99

6.98

160

18.99

6.54

317

Table 9 reveals the mean retention score of male and female

students in the treatment group as 23.91 and 21.99 with standard

deviations of 4.45 and 6.24 respectively. For the control group the

mean scores were 15.96 and 13.99 for the male and female students

with standard deviations of 4.30 and 5.17 respectively.

This shows that both the male and female students of the

treatment group had higher retention in BAT than their counterparts

that were taught using lecture method. The standard deviation shows

that there are more extreme scores in the female groups of both

treatment and control groups while that of the male students appear to

cluster around the mean. The table also shows that the overall mean

retention scores of male and female students in both treatment and

control groups were 20.01 and 17.99 with the standard deviations of

5.91 and 6.98 respectively, showing that the male students retain better

than their female counterparts, irrespective of the teaching method

used. The standard deviation however revealed that scores of the

female groups are more extreme than the scores in the male group.

Testing of Hypothesis

Ho1

There is no significant difference in the mean achievement of

scores SSII Biology students taught the Unit of Life using the LAP and

those taught using lecture method.

Table 10

Analysis of covariance of students mean achievement scores in

BAT (Instruction method X Gender and Instruction method X ability

group.)

Source of

Variation

Type of Sum of

Square

df Mean

Square

F-cal Sig

Dec

isio

n

Corrected

Model

6294.81 11 572.26 27.99 0.00 S

Intercept 1739.56 1 1737.56 85.00 0.00 S

Pretest

(covariate)

466.57 1 466.57 22.82 0.00 S

Ability 48.25 2 24.13 1.18 0.31 NS

Method 86.98 1 86.98 4.26 0.04 S

Gender 42.16 1 42.16 2.06 0.15 NS

Ability X

Method

181.07 2 90.54 4.43 0.01 S

Method X

Gender

22.86 1 22.88 1.12 0.29 NS

Error 6234.89 305 20.44

Total 130721.00 317

S = significant; NS – Not significant 317; <0.05

Table 10 shows that the calculated F-value for the effect of

treatment (method) on students‟ achievement in BAT is 4.26

significant at 0.04 level of significance, which is less than 0.05 set for

the study. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected. This means that a

significant difference exists in the mean achievement scores of Biology

students taught with LAP and those taught with lecture method.

H02:


scores of male and female students in post Biology Achievement Test.


gender no students achievement in the Unit of Life taught is 2.06

significant at 0.15 level of significance which is greater than 0.05 level

set for the student. The null hypothesis is accepted. This means there

is no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and

female students in Post Biology Achievement Test.

H03:

There is no significant interaction effect of instructional

strategies and gender on students‟ mean achievement scores in Post –

BAT.

Table 10 shows that the calculated F-value for the effect of the

interaction between gender and treatment on students‟ achievement in

the posttest is 1.12 significant at 0.29 level of significance. This is

greater than 0.05 level set for the study. The null hypothesis is

therefore accepted, indicating that there is no significant interaction

effect of gender and teaching strategies on students‟ mean achievement

scores in the post-BAT.

Ho4:

The interaction effect of method and ability levels on students‟

mean achievement will not be statistically significant.

The data in Table 10 shows that the calculated F-value for the

interaction effect of teaching method and ability level on students‟

achievement in post BAT is 4.43 and significant at 0.01 level of

significance and this is less than 0.05 level set for the study. Thus, the

null hypothesis is therefore rejected, indicating that there is significant

interaction effect of ability levels and teaching methods on students‟

mean achievement scores in the post achievement test of the unit of life

taught.

H05:

There is no significant difference in the mean retention scores of

SSII Biology students taught the unit of life using the LAP and those

taught using lecture method.

Table 11

Analysis of covariance of students mean retention scores in BAT

(instructional method X Gender and Instructional method X ability

group).

Source of

Variation

Type III

Sum of

Squares

df

Mean

Square

F-cal

Sig

Dec

isio

n

Corrected

Model

7930.21 11 720.93 39.25 .00 S

Intercept 1719.70 1 1719.70 93.62 .00 S

Pre test

372.89 1 372.89 20.30 .00 S

Ability 27.72 2 13.86 .75 .47 NS

Method 378.86 1 378.86 20.62 .00 S

Gender 113.30 1 113.30 6.17 .01 S

Ability X

Method

156.89 2 78.45 4.27 0.02 S

Method X

Gender

15.39 1 15.39 .84 .36 NS

Error 5602.76 305 18.37

Total 127856.00 317

S = Significant; NS = Not significant; N = 317; P = <0.05

Table 10 above shows that the calculated F-value for the effect of

treatment on the students retention scores in the Biology retention test is

20.62 at 0.00 level of significance, which is less than 0.05 level set for the

study. The null hypothesis is therefore rejected. This mean that a significant

difference exist in the mean retention scores of Biology students taught

the Unit of Life with LAP and those taught with lecture method.

H06


scores of male and female students in Biology retention test.


gender on students retention in the unit of life taught is 6.17 and .01

level of significant. This is less than 0.05 level set for the study. The

null hypothesis is therefore rejected, hence there is a significant

difference in the mean retention scores of male and female students in

the Biology retention test.

H07

There is no significant interaction effect of instructional

strategies and gender on students‟ means retention scores in Biology

retention test.

Table 11 shows that the calculated F-value with respect to the

effect of interaction of gender and teaching methods on students‟ mean

retention scores in the Biology retention test is 0.84 at 0.36 level of

significance. This is greater than the 0.05 level set for the study.

Consequently the null hypothesis is accepted, indicating that there is no

significant interaction effect of gender and instructional method on

students‟ mean scores in the Biology retention test.

Ho8

The interaction effect of method and ability levels on students‟ mean

retention will not be statistically significant.

Table 11 shows that the calculated F-value for the interaction effect of

the teaching method and ability levels on students‟ mean retention in

Biology retention test is 4.27 at 0.02 level of significance. This is less than

the 0.05 level set for the study. Consequently, the null hypothesis is rejected,

indicating that there is no significant interaction effect of teaching method

and ability levels on students‟ mean retention in the Unit of Life taught.

Summary of Major Findings

The result of data analysis have shown that:

(1) There is a significant difference between the treatment and

control groups in their mean achievement scores. The LAP group

scored significantly higher than the lecture method group.

(2) There is a significant difference between the treatment and

control groups in their mean retention score, the LAP group

scored significantly higher than the lecture group.

(3) Male students mean achievement scores was slightly higher than

their female counterpart. So there is no significant difference in

the achievement of male and female students in their mean

achievement score.

(4) The mean retention score of male students in the Biology

retention test was significantly greater than that of the female

students.

(5) There is no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender

on students mean scores in the post-achievement test.

(6) The interaction effect of instructional methods and gender on

students‟ mean scores in the Biology retention test is not

statistically significant.

(7) Students‟ academic ability levels had significant effect on their

achievement in the Biology achievement test, with the high

ability students having the highest mean achievement scores,

followed by the average ability students and lastly the low ability

students.

(8) The students‟ academic ability had significant effect of their

retention in the Biology retention test, with the high ability group

retained more than the average and low ability groups in that

order.

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This Chapter presents the discussion of findings of this study,

conclusion, educational implications of the study, recommendations of the

study, limitations, and suggestions for further research and summary of

the study,

Discussion of Findings:

The discussion is presented under the following captions:

(i) Effect of LAP on students achievement and retention in the Unit of

Life taught.

(ii) Effect of gender on students‟ achievement in and retention of the

Unit of Life taught.

(iii) Interaction effect of treatment and gender of students‟ achievement

in and retention of the Unit of Life taught.

(iv) Interaction effect of treatment and ability level on students‟

achievement in and retention of the Unit of Life taught.

Effect of Learning Activity Package On Students’ Achievement

Result of date analysis on Table 3 shown that students taught

with LAP performed significantly better in the Biology achievement

test than their counterparts who were taught using the lecture method.

This result is in agreement with the result of earlier studies carried out

by Burnside (1991) and Abu (1998), who found in their separate

studies, that learning Activity Package (LAP) was more effective than

the conventional methods in fostering students; achievement. The

relative superiority of the LAP over the lecture method in enhancing

students‟ achievement in Biology units could be attributed to the fact

that, as a teaching method the LAP is student – centered and ensures

active participation of students inn the teaching learning process more

than the lecture method. The lecture method often subjects the learner

to the position of the passive recipient of the facts as handed down to

him by the teacher. Moreover, the activities in the LAP were carried

out by the students themselves, at their own pace during and after the

school periods; which is in contrast to the lecture method where the

teacher did most of the work for the students. The active participation

of the students involving the use of several sense organs, invariably

should arouse greater students interest going by psychological theories

(Blair and Stone, 1975). Given, these prevailing circumstances under

which the LAP and the lecture method are employed in the classroom

instruction, it is not surprising that the treatment group (LAP) out –

performed the control group in BAT. The above result on the effect of

LAP on achievement, does not, however, agree completely with

Hwong (1993) who found that co-operative method of learning

enhances achievement better than the individualized method employed

in the teaching of music. The effectiveness of the co-operative learning

method may be due to the nature of the subject matter, which is music

that requires unified and co-operative effort for efficient production.

Effect of Learning Activity Package On Students’ Retention

It has been observed in this study that the Learning Activity

Package had significant effect on students‟ retention of Biology

Concepts Learnt. (Table 4). The findings support these similar works

on innovative methods that aid retention done by Egbugara (1988),

Nworgu (1990) and Ezeudu (1995) but do not agree with the findings

of Ndukwe (1985) and Eze (1992) who found that the difference in the

mean post retention test scores was not significant. The fact that the

Learning Activity Package helped students to retain more, may be

because it is activity-packed and students were allowed to interact with

the learning materials promoting meaningful learning and not rote-

learning (Wandesee, 1990). When the materials learnt are meaningful,

they tend to be stored in the long term memory. Hence, LAP which

Madabum (1995), IIoputaiffe (2001), and Eze (2001), that there is no

significant difference between the achievement of boys and that of

girls, in various science subjects. Nevertheless, the finding of this

study disagrees with the findings of Nnadi (2001), Erinsho (2005) and

Ugwu (2007), who found significant difference in achievement in their

independent studies. This could be attributed to the fact that the

activities in the Learning Activity Package are carried out by the

students themselves, at their own pace during and after the school

period, so this has given both the male and female students chances of

performing equally. On the other hand, the mean achievements score

of male students being slightly better than their female counterparts can

be associated with social attachment that males are more science

incline than female.

Effect of Gender on Students’ Performance in the Retention Test.

The finding of the study in respect of the effect of gender on

students‟ mean scores in the retention test is such that male students‟

mean retention score was significantly greater than that of the female

students. The result is in agreement with the findings of Nworgu

(1990), Ezeudu (1995) and Ugwu (2007), who in their independent

studies found that there is a significant difference in the retention of

male and female students in various science subjects. But on the

contrary, the finding of this study is in disparity with the findings of

Eze (1995), IIoputaife (2001), Eze (2001) and Ndukwe (2000) who

found no significant difference in the retention of the male and female

students. Male superiority in the retention of the Biology concepts

taught, may be traceable to the fact that the male achieved slightly

better than their female counterparts in the achievement test. Since one

can only retain what one had known in the past, it follows therefore,

that the male students who had acquired more knowledge would be

expected to retain such knowledge more than their female counterparts,

who recorded less achievement in the same discipline in the same

discipline in the posttest.

Interaction Effect of Treatment and Gender on Students’

Achievement

It has been established in this study (Table 9) that there is no

significant interaction effect of treatment and gender on students; mean

scores in the post achievement test. The finding of this study is in

agreement with Abonyi (1998) and IIoputaife (2001) who found no

interaction effect between gender and instructional model. However,

the finding of the study disagrees with Eze (1992) and Ezeudu (1995).

The achievement of male and female students may not vary due to

variation in the instructional models, especially with the Learning

Activity Package (LAP) which is activity oriented and the learners are

allowed to learn at their own rate, offering the learner the unique

opportunity to read, work accept and internalize the basic biology

concepts at their own pace, master the subject as indicated by the

accuracy of their own responses. The approach equally allows learner

the knowledge f immediate feedback which serves as a great

motivation propelling learners to want to learn more.

Interaction Effect of Treatment and Gender on Students’ Scores in

the Retention Test

The study has also shown (Table 10) that there is no significant

effect of the interaction of gender and treatment on students‟ means

retention scores in the Biology achievement test. The finding of this

study is also in line with Eze (1992) and Ezeudu (1995) who found that

teaching model was significant only with respect to achievement but

not significant for retention and interest. In view of the already

established relationship between achievement and retention, it is

expected that none existence of significant difference in interaction

effect of gender and treatment on achievement would invariably lead to

no significant interaction effect of gender and treatment on retention.

This is because it follows naturally that one can retain what one has

learnt and vice versa. As both the male and female were given equal

opportunities, there is tendency that there will not be any significant

differences in their retention.

Interaction Effect of treatment and Ability Level on Students’

Achievement

As indicated in Table 9, the interaction effect of treatment and

ability level (treatment x ability level) on students‟ achievement is

significant, though the high ability students taught Biology with LAP

performed slightly below the high ability group of their control group

counterparts. The reverse is the case with the average and the low

ability groups. In these groups, the students taught the same concept in

the LAP group performed better than their control group counterpart.

The study also revealed that high ability group in both the treatment

and control groups out performed the average and low ability

counterparts in both treatment and control groups. The findings of this

study are in line with independent studies carried out by Bomide

(1987), Eze (1992) and Eze (2002) who found out significant

interaction effect of treatment and ability level on students‟

achievement. It is expected that as a result of the combination of

genetic and environmental factors, the high ability students are

cognitively ready for learning than the average and low ability groups.

Perhaps, this situation arises because of the fact that high ability

requires less effort and time to process and learn a given task than their

average and how ability counterparts. In addition the Learning Activity

Package, because it facilitate individuality in learning, the high ability

group may prefer working and learning on his own and moving at his

own pace. This may account for the significant higher achievement of

the high ability group than the average and low ability counterparts

Interaction Effect of Treatment and Ability Levels on Students’

Score in the Retention Test

The study has shown (Table 10) that there is no significant effect

of the interaction of ability level and treatment on students mean

retention in the Biology achievement test. With all the ability groups

taught with LAP retaining more than their counterparts taught with

lecture method. Study carried out by Eze (1992) on the influence of

students‟ ability levels on students‟ retention suing advance organizer,

indicted a non-significant influence of students‟ ability level on their

retention, this is contrary to the findings of this study. As academic

ability is related to intelligence. The high ability students are

cognitively more ready for learning due to genetic and environmental

factors, making them more disposed to achieve better. Similarly, such

students would require less effort and time to decode factual

information previously encoded in their memory than their low ability

counterparts during subsequent testing. This probably account for the

significant interaction effect of ability level and treatment.

Conclusion

Learning Activity Package (LAP) was found to be more effective

than the lecture method of students‟ achievement and retention in

Biology. While the mean achievement score of the male students was

found to be slightly greater than their female counterpart using LAP,

there was no significant difference in the extent of achievement of

biology concepts between the treatment and control groups. Also the

male students‟ mean retention score was significantly greater than that

of the female students. There is no significant interaction effect of

treatment and gender on students‟ mean achievement and retention

scores.

Students‟ ability levels and treatment had significant interaction

effect on their achievement in the biology concepts taught, but showed

no significant interaction effect on students‟ retention.

Educational Implication of the Findings

The result of this study has some obvious educational

implications for teachers, students‟ textbook writers and curriculum

planners.

The study have provided an empirical evidence in respect of the

efficacy of the Learning Activity Package (LAP) in facilitating

students‟ achievement and retention in senior secondary two Biology.

This suggests the need for the Biology teachers to lay less emphasis on

the use of lecture method and lay more emphasis on the use of Learning

Activity Package in teaching Biology which is individualistic.

Effective teaching arising from the use of Learning Activity

Package will certainly help the students to understand Biology concepts

very well and may result to excellent achievement in biology. This

may lead to better retention.

The study has also shown that the use of Learning Activity

Package (LAP) does not show any significant difference in the

achievement and retention of male and female students. Thus the use

of LAP will not only help to arrest the problem of male being regard as

high achievers in science-related courses but will also encourage the

female students‟ enrolment in such courses and arise the female sense

of underachievement in science course.

Students‟ ability levels have been shown to have significant

effect on biology, with the high ability students‟ performing better than

average ability students who in turn, out-performed their low ability

counterparts. This result suggests the need to place biology students in

classes according to their academic ability levels, instead of the

common practice of having students‟ of different abilities in one class.

When students‟ ability levels are taken into cognizance in their

placement into classes, LAP which involves students learning at their

own rates, could be effectively used to teach each ability group.

The findings of this study also have implication for biology

students. With LAP, students have the responsibility of learning on

their own, with the teacher acting as a guide. LAP also provides the

students‟ opportunities to participate actively in the teaching – learning

process, since the method is student-centered. This gives the students‟

greater opportunity to be responsible for their own learning, equipping

the students‟ with the skills and competencies needed for living and

making meaningful contribution to the development of the society and

to function adequately in the world of science.

Since the Learning Activity Package approach is student-

centered and activity-orientated and the result of this study has

established its efficacy in biology instructions, it has implication for

curriculum planners and textbook writers. The curriculum planners, in

the area of Biology should develop student-centered and activity

orientated curriculum in which students are allowed greater

participation in the teaching-learning process with students being in

charge of their own learning. The textbook writer should also write

Biology textbook using the LAP approach, including more students‟

activities, with related quizzes and teachers‟ guide. Specifically, the

Learning Activity Package should be emphasized as a teaching strategy

in senior secondary school Biology.

Recommendations

In view of the afore-mentioned educational implications of the

result of this study, the following recommendations are made:-

(1) As the use of Learning Activity Package has been found

effective in promoting achievement and retention in Senior

Secondary School Biology and since this teaching method is

relatively new in Nigeria, it should be included in the Biology

Curriculum of Teachers‟ Training tertiary institution, so a s to

popularize its use among the teachers and hence bring about

more effective learning of Biology in our secondary schools.

(2) In view of the established efficacy of the Learning Activity

Package and the fact that most of the serving Biology teachers

may not be familiar with its use, seminars and workshops should

be organized by government and relevant professional bodies e.g

Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) to educate and

sensitize the teachers on the use of the Learning Activity

Package of Biology teaching and learning.

(3) As students of different ability levels have been shown to benefit

differently form biology lesson with respect to achievement and

retention using Learning Activity Package, Biology students

should be placed in classes according to their ability levels, to

prevent the slow learner being “dragged” by the fast Learners.

(4) Government agencies and professional associations whose

responsibility it is to design and revise the curriculum for

secondary schools should incorporate and emphasize the use of

Learning Activity Package method in the teaching of senior

secondary schools Biology.

(5) Government agencies and professional bodies such as NERDC

and STAN should sponsor further researches on the efficacy of

the Learning Activity Package in promoting performance in

other units of senior secondary schools Biology

(6) Government, through the Sate and Federal ministries of

education should encourage the Biology textbook writers to write

and publish Biology textbooks based on the Learning Activity

Package instructional method.

Limitation of the Study

The generalization made in this study may be affected by the

following limitations –

1. The use of intact classes for the study did not permit the random

assignment of students to experimental and control groups. This

may have affected the findings of the study.

2. If it were possible the researcher would have taught the lessons.

This is because the Biology teachers that taught their intact

classes may not have followed the researcher‟s instructions

strictly as regards the use of Learning Activity Package.

3. The experimental and control subjects may have noticed the

differences in the treatment, since both are in the same school.

4. The use of pretest as the basis for the classification of the

students into the ability groups posed a problem, as most

students scored poorly, making most students to cluster in the

low and average ability groups while there were very few of

them in the high ability group. This may have affected the result

of interaction of treatment and ability level.

5. Although there are many other individualized instructional

methods in literature, only the Learning Activity Package

method was used in this study.

Suggestions For Further Research

The following areas of further research are suggested in line with

the findings of this study:-

1. Further studies should be done using individualized instruction

methods other than the Learning Activity Package (LAP).

2. The study should be replicated in other science subjects such as

Chemistry and Physics.

3. Research should be carried out in other units in senior secondary

school Biology using LAP.

4. Investigating the influence of school location and school type on

students‟ achievement and retention in senior secondary school

Biology using LAP

Summary of the Study

This study explored the efficacy of the Learning Activity

Package method of instruction in fostering students‟ achievement and

retention in senior secondary school Biology. This was as a result of

poor report of students‟ achievement in Biology and other science

subjects. The study also examined the effect of gender and biology

levels on students‟ performance in the subject with respect to

achievement and retention.

Eight research questions and eight hypotheses guided the study.

The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

The study employed the pre-test posttest non-equivalent control

group design. The sample for the study consisted of 317 SSII Biology

students drawn from four coeducational senior secondary schools in

Enugu Educational Zone of Enugu State using simple random

sampling. In each of the sampled school, two intact classes were

randomly sampled and used for the study.

One of the classes was used as experimental class, while the

other class constituted the control group. The experimental group was

taught the Unit of Life using LAP while the control group was taught

the same topic using lecture method. The regular biology teachers of

the sampled schools were trained by the researcher and used for

administering the research conditions. The teachers made use of the

LAP and lesson notes prepared by the researcher in teaching the

experimental and control groups respectively. The teaching lasted for

five weeks.

The instruments (BATs) were developed by the researcher,

validated and used for data collection. The instruments are:

(a) Pre-Biology Achievement Test

(b) Pot Biology Achievement Test

(c) Retention Test.

Each of the instruments is a 40-item multiple choice questions

developed from the Biology topic taught (Unit of Life). Three forms of

reliability (estimate of internal consistency, co-efficient of equivalence and

stability) were carried out for the instruments, at the end of which reliability

indices of 0.79, 0.83 and 0.92 were respectively obtained for them.

The research questions were answered using mean scores and

standard deviations, while the hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of

significance using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Result obtained from

data analysis showed that:

(1) There is a significant difference in the treatment and control with

the mean score of the LAP group being significant more than the

lecture method group.

(2) There is a significant difference in the treatment and control with

the mean retention score of the LAP group being significant

more than the lecture method group.

(3) There is no significant difference in the mean achievement

scores of male and female students.

(4) The mean retention score of male students‟ in Biology retention

test was significantly greater than that of the female students.

(5) There is no significant interaction effect of treatment and gender

on students‟ mean scores in the post achievement test.

(6) The interaction effect of the instructional methods and gender on

students mean scores in the Biology retention test is not

statistically significant.

(7) Students academic ability levels had significant effect on their

achievement in the biology achievement test, with the high

ability students having the highest mean achievement score,

followed by the average ability students and then the low ability

students.

(8) The students‟ academic ability had no significant effect on their

retention in the Biology retention test. Even though the high

ability group showed evidence of high retention than the average

and low ability groups in that order.

Based on the findings of the study, some recommendations were

made. The educational implications of the findings and the limitations

of the study were also highlighted.

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APPENDIX A

Biology Achievement Test (BAT) – (Pre – Test) FOR SS II

Instruction

Each question/item is accompanied by five options lettered A to

E. Circle the letter that corresponds with the answer to each question.

Example

The organelles that synthesize carbohydrates in plant cells are

A. chromoplasts.

B. ribosomes.

C. mitochondria.

D. chloroplasts.

E. leucoplasts.

The answer to the example above is D.

1. Carbondioxide enters the stomata during photosynthesis through

the process known as

A. osmosis.

B. active transport.

C. diffusion.

D. haemolysis.

E. plasmolysis.

2. The cell membrane of a cell is said to be semi-permeable

because

A. it allows only large molecular substance to pass through it into

the cell.

B. it is actively involved in energy production in the cell.

C. it actively allows all substances to pass through it by diffusion.

D. it is actively selective in allowing substances pass through it.

E. fatty acids are only the building blocks of the membrane.

3. Which of the following organisms exist as a colony?

A. Paramecium.

B. Spirogyra.

C. Chlamydomonas.

D. Volvox.

E. Amoeba.

4. Study the diagram below and use them to answer the question

that follows:

Cell in water Same cell in strong salt solution

The process illustrated above is

A. diffusion.

B. plasmolysis.

C. absorption.

D. permeability.

E. cohesion.

5. The organelles intimately connected with respiration in cells are

the

A. microsomes.

B. plastids.

C. mitochondria.

D. chromosomes.

E. Golgi bodies.

6. Haemolysis of the red blood cells occur when blood is

A. put in hypotonic solution.

B. put in liquid nitrogen.

C. put in isotonic solution.

D. put in concentrated salt solution.

E. collected in a container.

7. What of the following is NOT a plant cell organelle?

A. Golgi body.

B. Nucleus.

C. Fat droplets.

D. Ribosome.

E. Endoplasmic reticulum.

8. Which of the following is most important to all cell activities?

A. Nitrates.

B. Light.

C. Water.

D. Carbon(iv)oxide.

E. Chlorophyll.

9. The cell membrane consist of

A. Carbohydrates and lipids.

B. Vitamins and proteins.

C. Lipids and proteins.

D. Water and Sugar.

E. Starch and cellulose.

10. Which of the following is not likely to be found in the cell of a

ripe tomato fruit?

A. Chromoplast.

B. Chlorophyll.

C. Cellulose cell wall.

D. Mitochoridrion.

E. Mineral salts.

11. Osmosis can be defined as diffusion of

A. atoms and molecules through membrane to an area of higher

concentration.

B. water molecules from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution

across a permeable membrane.

C. water molecules from an area of high concentration to an area of

low concentration.

D. water molecules from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution

through a semi-permeable membrane.

E. water molecules from a concentrated solution to a dilute solution

through a semi-permeable membrane.

12. Which of the following structures can be found only in plant

cells?

A. Myofibrils.

B. Plastids.

C. Nucleolus.

D. Cell Vacuole.

E. Mitochondrion.

13. Which of the following processes is NOT applicable to the

reaction of a cell to concentration of a liquid medium?

A. Osmosis.

B. Haemolysis.

C. Diffusion.

D. Plasmolysis.

E. Radiation.

14. Which of the following processes explains the bursting of marine

unicellular organism when it is placed in fresh water?

A. Osmosis.

B. Diffusion.

C. Plasmolysis.

D. Haemolysis.

E. Flaccidity.

15. Which of the following is a similarity between a typical animal

cell and a typical plant cell? Presence of

A. cellulose cell wall.

B. chlorophyll.

C. centrally – placed nucleus.

D. cell membrane.

E. large vacuole.

16. Which of the following organisms does not exist as a single free-

living cell?

A. Amoeba.

B. Volvox.

C. Euglena.

D. Paramecium.

E. Chlamydomonas.

17. In which of the following processes is a semi-permeable

membrane necessary?

A. Diffusion.

B. Osmosis.

C. Capillarity.

D. Cyclosis.

E. Hydrolysis.

18. Which of the following can function as a semi-permeable

membrane?

A. Cell membrane.

B. Polythene material.

C. Blotting paper.

D. Filter paper.

E. Boiled yam tuber.

19. Which of the following processes is responsible for the

perception of the odour from a rotten egg broken at a far end of a

laboratory?

A. Absorption.

B. Evaporation.

C. Diffusion.

D. Osmosis.

E. Transpiration.

20. When a plant cell is put into a hypertonic solution, its

cytoplasmic content.

A. becomes swollen.

B. increases in number.

C. becomes plasmolysed.

D. disintegrates.

E. becomes turgid.

21. The scientist who discovered the cell while examining a thin

slice of cork under the microscope was

A. Robert Hooke.

B. Anton Van Leeuwoenhoek.

C. Mathias Schleiden.

D. Theodore Schwann.

E. Alexander Fleming.

22. In which of the following is a cellulose cell wall present?

A. Amoeba.

B. Mammalian white blood cell.

C. Spirogyra.

D. Paramecium.

E. Parasitic worms.

23. Which of the following organisms exits as a filament?

A. Euglena.

B. Amoeba.

C. Volvox.

D. Paramecium.

E. Spirogyra.

24. Potato strips left in strong salt solution for four hours were found

to be soft. This as because the

A. potato strips absorbed the salt by the process of osmosis.

B. potato strips absorb water by the process of osmosis.

C. cell sap of the potato strip was more concentrated than salt

solution.

D. potato strips lost water by the process of ex-osmosis and become

weak and flaccid.

E. potato strips lost water by the process of diffusion and become

flaccid.

25. Glucose is transferred from the intestinal lumen into the villi

through a process known as

A. diffusion.

B. osmosis.

C. plasmolysis.

D. translocation.

E. transcription.

26. Which of the following statements is correct about diffusion?

A. It involves the movement of water molecules only.

B. Molecules move from a region of higher concentration to a

region of lower concentration.

C. Differentially permeable membrane must be present for diffusion

to occur.

D. It involves the movement of only solute molecules into the

Bowman‟s capsule.

E. It occurs when a solute can no longer dissolve in a solvent.

Study the set up below and use it to answer questions 27 to 29.

27. This set up can be used in an experiment to demonstrate

A. diffusion.

B. tugor.

C. plasmolysis.

D. osmosis.

E. absorption.

28. Yam is used in this experiment because it

A. is a storage organ.

B. is permeable to solutes.

C. acts as a semi – permeable membrane.

D. possesses large pores through which liquids can pass.

E. is a plant material.

29. Which of the following results would not be expected if the set

up was left for several hours.

A. Increases in the size of the yam.

B. Movement of the salt solution into the water.

C. Decrease in the volume of water inside the yam.

D. Increase in the volume of salt solution in the beaker.

E. Movement of the water into the salt solution.

30. All the following processes in animals take place by diffusion

except the movement of

A. Oxygen in the alveoli into the living tissue.

B. Carbon dioxide from the lung tissue into the alveoli.

C. Nutrient materials from the mother through the placenta into the

embryo.

D. Amino acids into the blood capillaries of the villi.

E. Materials from the glomerulus into the Bowman‟s capsule.

31. In which of the following level of existence is food vacuoles

present?

A. Parasitic worms

B. Colony

C. Filament

D. Single independent cell

E. Mammalian blood cells

32. If a drop of freshly drawn mammalian blood is mixed with a

little common salt on a slide and then after a few minutes,

viewed under the microscope, the red corpuscles will.

A. remain the same size.

B. swell up.

C. lose their red colour.

D. shrink.

E. clot.

33. Animal cells possess the following except

A. cellulose cell wall.

B. protoplasm.

C. vacuole.

D. nucleus.

E. cell membrane.

34. The cell is the functional unit of living organism because

A. multicellur organisms are made up of cells.

B. all the cells in a multiceular organism function as a single cell.

C. the function of a multicellular organism is the sum total of the

functions of its constitution cells.

D. the function of a single cell is superior to that of the multicellular

organism.

E. the cells of a multicellular organism are similar in structure.

35. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of any green

plant cells?

A. The vacuoles contain sap.

B. The food stored is glycogen.

C. A protein body is present in the cytoplasm.

D. There are chromosomes in the nucleus.

E. Both nucleus and cytoplasm are enclosed in membrane.

36. Which of these scientists were directly concerned with the cell

theory?

A. Theodore Schwann and Mathias Schleiden.

B. Robert Hooke and Charles Darwin.

C. Felix Dujardin and Mathias Schleiden.

D. Theodore Schwann and Robert Hooke.

E. Robert Hooke and Rodolf Vichrow.

37. Which of the following does not explain the cell theory?

A. Organisms with multicellular structure can attain maximal

functional efficiency.

B. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells.

C. The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living

organism.

D. All existing cells come from the reproduction of pre-existing

cells.

E. A cell contains information for its structural and functional

development in its nucleic acid.

38. Cells carrying out active transport have the following except

having

A. numerous mitochondria.

B. a high concentration of ATP.

C. an immediate energy store.

D. numerous ribosomes.

E. a high cellular respiratory rate.

39. The cells of the yam tuber functioning as a unit could best be

described as

A. colony.

B. an organ.

C. a tissue.

D. a filament.

E. a system.

40. To which of the following levels of organization does the

stomach belong?

A. Organs.

B. Systems.

C. Tissues.

D. Cells.

E. Organisms.

APPENDIX B

BIOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT TEST (BAT) POST – TEST FOR SS II

Instruction

Each question/item is accompanied by five options lettered A-E.

Encircled the letter that corresponds with the answer to each question.

Example:-

The pigments for the various colours of the flowers is:

A. chromoplasts.

B. ribosome.

C. mitochondria.

D. chloroplasts.

E. leucoplasts.

The answer is A.

1. Which of the following organism is one celled and free living?

A. Volvox.

B. Spirogyra.

C. Rhizopus.

D. Chlamdomonas.

E. Hydra.

2. One of the differences between plant and animal cells is that

A. plant cells have less distinct outline, but animal cells have distinct

outline.

B. plant cell wall is made of cellulose, but animal cell wall is made of

chitin.

C. in plant cell large vacuoles are absent, but present in animal cells.

D. in plant cells plastids are absent, but present in animal cells.

E. in plant cells carbohydrates are stored as starch, but as glycogen

in animal cells.

3. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A. Plant cells are generally larger than animal cells.

B. Plant cells are surrounded by thick and rigid cell wall.

C. Plant cells posses large vacuoles.

D. Plant and animal cells have plastids.

E. Cells form the basic unit of the organisms.

4. The first scientist to describe the cell was

A. Theodore Schwann.

B. Felix Dujardin.

C. Robert Hooke.

D. Mathias Schleiden.

E. Alexander Fleming.

5. Which of the following organisms exist at the tissue level of

organization?

A. Hydra.

B. Volvox.

C. Spirogyra.

D. Rhizopus.

E. Euglena.

6. One of the differences between the cheek cells of man and cell in

the tip of onions root is the presence of

A. large vacuoles

B. ribosome

C. cytoplasm

D. nucleus

E. nucleic acid

7. Which of the following statement about the differences between

plant and animal cells is not correct?

A. Animal cells possess denser cytoplasm than plant cells.

B. Plant cells possess larger vacuoles than animal cells.

C. The cell walls of plant cells contain cellulose.

D. There are fewer chloroplasts in animals cells than in plant cells.

E. Plant cells have rigid cells walls.

8. Which of the following is most important to a cell as a living

unit?

A. Vacuole

B. Nucleus

C. Cell boundary

D. Chloroplast

E. Ribosomes

9. Below is a list of levels of organization in organisms

(i) Tissue (ii) System (iii) Cell (iv) Organ

The correct sequence of the levels in increasing order of complexity is

A. I II III IV

B. III IV I II

C. III I IV II

D. IV III I II

E. IV I II III

10. The two physical processes involved in the absorption and

transport of materials in plants are

A. diffusion and plasmolysis

B. cohesion and diffusion

C. flaccidity and turgidity

D. osmosis and diffusion

E. plasmolysis and capillarity

The diagram below illustrates the structure of a cell. Use it to answer

question 11 and 12.

11. The structure that produces the energy required by the cell is

labelled.

A. I

B. II

C. III

D. IV

E. V

12. The structure labeled V is the

A. mitochondrion

B. ribosome

C. nucleus

D. centriole

E. nucleolus

13. Which of the following is the carrier of hereditary materials?

A. Centriole

B. Cytoplasm

C. Nucleolus

D. Chromosome

E. Lysosome

14. The arrangement of the level of organization in organisms from

simple to most complex structure is as follows

A. Tissue, organ, cell and system

B. Cell, tissue, organ and system

C. System, organ, tissue and cell

D. Organ, organelle, cell and tissue

E. Cell, organelle, system and organ

15. Which one of the following structures could be commonly found

in a nerve cell, a cell of spirogyra and amoeba?

A. Dendrite

B. Vacuole

C. Cell wall

D. Granules

E. Nucleus

16. The organisms listed below are unicellular in nature except

A. Paramecium

B. Amoeba

C. Euglena

D. Chlamydomonas

E. Volvox

17. When the epidermis of an onion is placed in a salt solution, the

cell will become

A. plasmolysed

B. turgid

C. haemolysed

D. saturated

E. colourless

18. What would happen if the epidermis of the onion was placed in

distilled water?

A. It will become flaccid

B. It will lose more water

C. It will shrink

D. Water will enter the cells of the epidermis

E. The epidermis will change colour

19. Which of the following is the correct match of the form in which

living cells exist?

A. Spirogyra – Filament

B. Spirogyra – Colony

C. Volvox – Filament

D. Pandorina – Filament

E. Chlamydomonas – Filament

20. Which of the following is not a diffusion process?

A. Entry of water from the soil solution into the root hairs

B. Gaseous exchange in photosynthesis

C. Gaseous exchange in respiration

D. Passage of dissolved gases through specialized respiratory

membranes in animals e.g. lungs

E. Exchange of dissolved gases in respiring aquatic organisms.

21. The movement of particles of a substance, from regions of higher

concentration to those of lower concentration, until their

concentration is uniform is known as

A. osmosis

B. plasmolysis

C. diffusion

D. absorption

E. haemolysis

22. The diagram below illustrates the beginning of two experiments,

1 and 2. Name the process or processes operating in both the

experiments that accounts for the flow of water.

A. Osmosis in 1 and diffusion in 2

B. Osmosis in both 1 and 2

C. Diffusion in both 1 and 2

D. Diffusion in 1 and osmosis in 2

E. Active transport in 1 and osmosis in 2

23. To which form of existence do Amoeba, Paramecium,

Chlamydomonas, Euglena belong?

A. Filamentous organisms

B. Semi independent organisms

C. Single cell organism

D. Tissue orgasms

E. Colonial organism

24. The movement of solvent molecules from a weak solution,

across a semi-permeable membrane, into a stronger solution is

known as

A. diffusion

B. active transport

C. suction

D. osmosis

E. transpiration

25. Diffusion is different from osmosis because it involves

movement of

A. solvent molecules from low concentration to high concentration.

B. solvent molecules from high concentration to low concentration.

C. solute molecules from high concentration to low concentration.

D. solute molecules from low concentration to high concentration.

E. solute and solvent molecules from high concentration to low

concentration.

Use the diagram below to answer question 26 – 30.

26. What do you observe after several hours?

A. The cavity in the pawpaw will be full of liquid.

B. The cavity in the pawpaw will be empty.

C. The water level in the beaker would have risen.

D. The size of the pawpaw will increase.

E. Nothing happens.

27. What process has been shown to operate in the experiment?

A. Diffusion

B. Transpiration pull

C. Tugor

D. Plasmolysis

E. Osmosis

28. This process would not have occurred if the pawpaw had been

cooked. What property of the cell was destroyed by the cooking?

A. The permeable property of the cell wall.

B. The property of the cytoplasmic lining of the cells to act as semi-

permeable membrane.

C. The property to act as semi-permeable membrane.

D. The property of the cell vacuole to act as suction pump.

E. None of the above.

29. Pawpaw is used in the experiment because it

A. is a storage organ

B. is permeable to solute

C. acts as a semi permeable membrane

D. possesses larger pores through which liquids can pass

E. is a plant material

30. What is the use of this process to the plant?

A. It facilitates the intake of water from the soil.

B. Allows the movement of gases between the blood cells and body

cells.

C. It facilitates the intake of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.

D. It facilitates the intake of mineral salts by root hairs.

E. It facilitates the absorption of digested food by the small

intestine.

Study the diagrams below and use it to answer the question that follows:

Plasma red blood cell

Shows direction of movement of Na+ and K+ ions

31. The process illustrated above is

A. active transport

B. diffusion

C. plasmolysis

D. osmosis

E. haemohysis

Study the diagram below and use it to answer the questions that

follow:

Effect of three solutions (A, B, C) of different strength on red blood cells.

144

5

15

150

Na+

K+

32. Which of the following shows the haemolysis of red blood cells?

A. I

B. II

C. III

D. IV

E. V

33. Which of these shows the state of the red blood cells when

placed in hypertonic solution?

A. II

B. I

C. V

D. IV

E. III

34. Which of these diagrams above describes the state of the cell if

placed in an isotonic solution?

A. V

B. IV

C. I

D. II

E. III

35. Mineral salts can be absorbed into the roots by

A. diffusion only

B. osmosis only

C. osmosis and diffusion

D. diffusion and active transport

E. imbibitions only

36. Use the figure below to answer questions 36 and 37.

After 30 minutes, the level of sugar solution in the above figure will

A. rise in x only

B. rise in y only

C. be the same in x and y

D. fall in y

E. fall in x

37. The process by which water moves from x to y through the semi-

permeable membrane is called

A. diffusion

B. osmosis

C. active transport

D. active diffusion

E. plasmolysis

38. On what structures are the units of inheritance situated?

A. Golgi bodies

B. Ribosomes

C. Chromosomes

D. Endoplasmic reticulum

E. Lysosomes

39. Which of the following organelles are likely to be present in cells

that are actively respiring and photosynthesizing?

A. Nucleolus and centriole

B. Mitochondria and chloroplast

C. Mitochondria and centriole

D. Lysosomes and ribosomes

E. Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum

40. The structure that is most commonly identified in all living cells

under the light microscope is the

A. mitochondrion

B. chloroplast

C. ribosome

D. nucleus

E. centriole

APPENDIX C

TEST BLUE PRINT FOR THE BAT (PRE-BAT) FOR SS II

Content Knowledge

40%

Comprehensive

35%

Application

25%

Total

1. The cell as a

living unit (20%)

3

3, 16, 23

3

22, 34, 31

2

39, 40

8

2. The cell (30%) 5

7, 12, 21, 33, 36

4

9, 15, 35, 37

3

10, 5, 8

12

3. The cell and its

environment

(50%)

8

4, 17, 18, 27,

25, 1, 20, 28

7

2, 6, 11, 13, 26,

29, 38

5

14, 19, 24,

30, 32

20

Total 16 14 10 40

TEST BLUE PRINT FOR THE POST – BAT FOR SS II

Content Knowledge

40%

Comprehensive

35%

Application

25%

Total

The cell as a

living unit (20%)

3

1, 5, 16

3

9, 14, 8

2

19, 23

8

The cell (30%) 5

4, 12, 13, 38, 40

4

2, 3, 7, 11

3

15, 6, 39

12

The cell and its

environment

(50%)

8

10, 21, 22, 24,

27, 32, 35, 37

7

25, 26, 29, 31,

33, 34, 36

5

17, 18, 28,

20, 30

20

Total 16 14 10 40

APPENDIX D

Validators Comments on the BAT

In the pre-test BAT:

- Check the spelling of option D in item 1

- In all the questions – the options that follow complete questions

should start with capital letter.

- Every option should end with full stop.

- Put all the Biological names in italics or should be underlined.

- The „NOT‟ or „EXCEPT‟ in negative questions should be

emphasized.

- Items 1, 21 and 40 are testing the same concept. Replace or

discard two.

- Option E of item 31 does not serve as a good distractor.

- Items 19 and 26 are testing the same concept. Replace or discard

one.

- In item 23, two of the options are correct.

In the post-test BAT:

- Item 1 and 15 in the post test BAT are the same.

- The stem in question 3 should be corrected, the options also

contains 2 correct answers

- Item 9 and 14 are the same (replace)

- Check the spelling of plasmolysis in item 10 options.

- Check the option B in item 25.

- Put example in the Post BAT.

APPENDIX E I

COMPUTATION OF RELIABILITY COEFFICIENT FOR THE

BAT (K – R 20)

(PRE – BAT)

ITEM

NO

NO. OF

PASSES

NO. OF

FAILURE

PROPORTION

PASSING (P)

PROPORTION

FAILING (Q)

PQ

1 14 26 0.35 0.65 0.23

2. 12 28 0.30 0.70 0.21

3. 17 23 0.42 0.58 0.24

4. 9 31 0.22 0.78 0.17

5. 26 14 0.65 0.35 0.23

6. 20 20 0.50 0.50 0.25

7. 28 12 0.70 0.30 0.21

8. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

9. 24 16 0.60 0.40 0.24

10. 8 32 0.20 0.80 0.16

11. 12 28 0.30 0.70 0.21

12. 15 25 0.37 0.63 0.23

13. 12 28 0.30 0.70 0.21

14. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

15. 20 20 0.50 0.50 0.25

16. 23 17 0.58 0.42 0.24

17. 19 21 0.48 0.52 0.25

18. 22 18 0.55 0.45 0.25

19. 11 29 0.28 0.72 0.20

20. 14 26 0.35 0.65 0.23

21. 10 30 0.25 0.75 0.19

22. 13 27 0.33 0.67 0.22

23. 24 16 0.60 0.40 0.24

24. 25 15 0.63 0.37 0.23

25. 30 10 0.75 0.25 0.19

26. 10 30 0.25 0.75 0.19

27. 16 24 0.40 0.60 0.24

28. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

29. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

30. 15 25 0.37 0.63 0.23

31. 16 24 0.40 0.60 0.24

32. 15 25 0.37 0.63 0.23

33. 30 10 0.75 0.25 0.19

34. 28 12 0.70 0.30 0.21

35. 21 19 0.53 0.47 0.25

36. 15 25 0.38 0.62 0.24

37. 19 21 0.48 0.52 0.30

38. 22 18 0.55 0.45 0.25

39. 13 27 0.33 0.67 0.22

40. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

PQ = 9.1

K - R20 = N 1 - PQ

N-1 SD2

= 40 1 – 9.1

40-1 46.27

= 40 1 – 0.197

39

= 1.03 (0.803)

= 0.83

APPENDIX E II

(POST – BAT)

ITEM

NO

NO. OF

PASSES

NO. OF

FAILURE

PROPORTION

PASSING (P)

PROPORTION

FAILING (Q)

PQ

1 25 15 0.63 0.37 0.23

2. 20 20 0.50 0.50 0.25

3. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

4. 16 24 0.40 0.60 0.24

5. 19 21 0.48 0.52 0.25

6. 11 29 0.28 0.72 0.20

7. 23 17 0.58 0.42 0.24

8. 26 14 0.65 0.35 0.23

9. 33 7 0.83 0.17 0.14

10. 27 13 0.68 0.32 0.22

11. 29 11 0.73 0.27 0.20

12. 17 23 0.43 0.57 0.25

13. 38 2 0.95 0.05 0.05

14. 29 11 0.73 0.27 0.20

15. 15 25 0.38 0.62 0.24

16. 28 12 0.70 0.30 0.21

17. 26 14 0.65 0.35 0.23

18. 35 5 0.88 0.12 0.11

19. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

20. 12 28 0.30 0.70 0.21

21. 22 18 0.55 0.45 0.25

22. 37 3 0.93 0.07 0.07

23. 26 14 0.65 0.35 0.23

24. 15 25 0.38 0.62 0.24

25. 24 16 0.60 0.40 0.24

26. 39 1 0.98 0.02 0.02

27. 21 19 0.53 0.47 0.25

28. 34 6 0.85 0.15 0.13

29. 28 12 0.70 0.30 0.21

30. 17 23 0.43 0.57 0.25

31. 33 7 0.83 0.17 0.14

32. 29 11 0.73 0.27 0.20

33. 16 24 0.40 0.60 0.24

34. 28 12 0.70 0.30 0.21

35. 21 19 0.53 0.47 0.25

36. 37 3 0.93 0.07 0.07

37. 18 22 0.45 0.55 0.25

38. 30 10 0.75 0.25 0.19

39. 20 20 0.50 0.50 0.25

40. 20 20 0.50 0.50 0.25

PQ = 8.14

K - R20 = N 1 - PQ

N-1 SD2

= 40 1 – 8.14

40-1 28.24

= 40 1 – 0.29

39

= 1.03 (0.71)

= 0.73

APPENDIX F I

COMPUTATION OF PEARSON’S PRODUCT MOMENT

CORRELATION CO-EFFICIENT OF THE BAT

(CO-EFFICIENT OF EQUIVALENCE)

S/N X Y X – Y Y – Y (X– X)2 (Y – Y)

2 (X – X)

(Y x Y)

1 78 81 +26.1 +23.1 681.21 533.61 602.91

2 78 71 +26.1 +13.1 681.21 171.11 341.91

3 76 60 +24.1 +2.1 580.81 4.41 50.61

4 76 70 +24.1 +12.1 580.81 146.41 291.61

5 75 68 +23.1 +10.1 533.61 102.01 233.31

6 73 70 +21.1 +12.1 445.21 146.41 255.31

7 72 65 +20.1 +7.1 404.01 50.41 142.71

8 69 60 +17.1 +2.1 292.41 4.41 35.91

9 68 62 +16.1 +4.1 259.21 16.81 66.01

10 68 62 +16.1 +4.1 259.21 16.81 66.01

11 68 61 +16.1 +3.1 259.21 9.61 210.91

12 67 60 +15.1 +2.1 228.01 4.41 31.71

13 67 50 +15.1 -7.9 228.01 62.41 119.29

14 66 64 +14.1 +6.1 198.81 37.21 86.01

15 66 60 +14.1 +2.1 198.81 4.41 29.61

16 65 60 +13.1 +2.1 171.61 4.41 27.51

17 65 58 +13.1 +0.1 171.61 0.01 1.31

18 58 56 +6.1 -1.9 37.21 3.61 11.59

19 58 48 +6.1 -.9.9 37.21 98.01 60.39

20 57 50 +5.1 -7.9 26.01 62.41 40.29

21 57 60 +5.1 +2.1 26.01 4.41 10.71

22 57 62 +5.1 +4.1 26.01 16.81 20.91

23 56 61 +4.1 +3.1 16.81 9.61 12.72

24 56 42 +4.1 -5.9 16.81 24.81 24.19

25 56 54 +4.1 -3.9 16.81 15.21 15.99

26 55 56 +3.1 -1.9 9.61 3.61 5.89

27 54 50 +2.1 -7.9 4.41 61.41 16.59

28 54 38 +2.1 -9.9 4.41 98.01 20.79

29 54 60 +2.1 +2.1 4.41 4.41 4.41

30 53 65 +1.1 +7.1 1.21 50.41 7.81

31 52 64 +0.1 +6.1 0.01 37.21 0.61

32 52 62 +0.1 +4.1 0.01 16.81 0.41

33 50 54 -1.9 -3.9 3.61 15.21 7.41

34 50 57 -1.9 -0.9 3.61 0.81 1.71

35 48 50 -3.9 -7.9 15.21 62.41 30.81

36 48 52 -3.9 -4.9 15.21 34.81 23.01

37 47 45 -4.9 -12.9 24.01 166.41 63.21

38 46 40 -5.9 -17.9 34.81 320.41 105.61

39 45 43 -6.9 -14.9 47.61 220.01 102.81

40 40 44 -11.9 -13.9 141.61 193.21 165.41

X=51.9 Y=57.9 6282 2846 3356

xy

r = (X2) (Y

2)

3346

6282 x 2846

3346

17878572

3346

4228.3

= 0.79

APPENDIX F II

RELIABILITY (CO-EFFICIENT OF STABILITY) OF THE

BAT USING PEARSON’S PRODUCT MOMENT TECHNIQUE

S/N X

Score

Y

Score

X(X–X)

Y(Y-Y) X

2 Y

2

(X – X) (Y x Y)

XY

1 88 81 +28.5 +31.5 812.25 992.25 897.75

2 78 77 +25.5 +27.5 650.25 756.25 701.25

3 75 55 +22.5 +5.5 560.25 30.25 123.75

4 72 65 +19.5 +15.5 380.25 240.25 302.25

5 70 72 +17.5 +22.5 306.25 506.25 393.75

6 69 60 +16.5 +10.5 275.25 110.25 173.25

7 67 69 +14.5 +19.5 210.25 380.25 282.75

8 67 62 +14.5 +12.5 210.25 156.25 181.25

9 66 51 +13.5 +1.5 182.25 02.25 20.25

10 63 68 +10.5 +18.5 110.25 342.25 194.25

11 62 65 +9.5 +15.5 90.25 240.25 147.25

12 61 50 +8.5 +0.5 72.25 0.25 4.25

13 60 64 +7.5 +14.5 56.25 210.25 108.75

14 57 60 +6.5 +10.5 42.25 110.25 68.25

15 57 48 +4.5 -1.5 20.25 02.25 -6.75

16 57 49 +4.5 -0.5 20.25 02.25 -2.25

17 55 49 +2.5 -0.5 6.25 02.25 -1.25

18 54 51 +1.5 +1.5 2.25 02.25 2.25

19 53 56 -0.5 6.5 0.25 42.25 3.25

20 52 54 -0.5 +4.5 0.25 20.25 2.25

21 50 55 -2.5 +5.5 6.25 30.25 -13.75

22 50 17 -2.5 -2.5 6.25 6.25 6.25

23 48 49 -4.5 -0.5 20.25 0.25 2.25

24 46 48 -6.5 -6.5 42.25 42.25 42.25

25 45 44 -7.5 -5.5 56.25 30.25 41.25

26 42 41 -10.5 -8.5 110.25 72.25 89.25

27 42 39 -10.5 -10.5 110.25 110.25 110.25

28 40 32 -12.5 -17.5 156.25 306.25 218.75

29 38 42 -14.5 -7.5 210.25 56.25 108.75

30 36 37 -16.5 -12.5 272.25 156.25 206.25

31 36 40 -16.5 -9.5 272.25 90.25 156.75

32 35 38 -17.5 -11.5 306.25 132.25 201.25

33 34 36 -18.5 -13.5 342.25 182.25 249.75

34 34 37 -18.5 -12.5 342.25 156.25 231.25

35 33 38 -19.5 -11.5 380.25 132.25 224.25

36 31 36 -21.5 -13.5 462.25 182.25 290.25

37 31 30 -21.5 -19.5 462.25 380.25 419.25

38 31 28 -21.5 -21.5 462.25 462.25 462.25

39 29 31 -23.5 -18.5 552.25 342.25 434.75

40 26 29 -26.5 -20.5 702.25 420.25 543.25

X=2099

X = 52.5

Y = 1978

Y 49.5

X2

= 9224

Y2

= 7436

XY2

= 7624.5

xy

R = (X2) (Y

2)

7624.5

9224 x 7436

7624.5

68589664

7624.5

8281.9

= 0.92

APPENDIX G

LEARNING ACTIVITY PACKAGE (LAP)

This is Learning Activity Package designed on the topic „Unit of

Life‟. One will be required to read through the package step by step at

one‟s own pace and will be required to carry out the activities as

contained in the package. One is also free to draw the teacher‟s

attention whenever there is any obstacle.

General Introduction on the Topic

The cells are the units of life of all living plants and animals. If a

thin section of plant is cut examined microscopically, it will be seen to

consist of box like cavities or compartments, each of which is called a

cell. Animals like plants have cells as the unit of life. Even though they

are small in size, the cells are in vast number and make up tissues and

organs of higher, multicellular organisms, many trillion cells, each of

which has special role to play in the overall organization of the

organism. In those organisms with one cell (unicellular) all the

functions of life are performed within the single cell.

Lessons One and Two (Week 1)

Class - SSII

Topic - The unit of life

Unit I - Cell as a living unit

Sub Unit - Forms in which living cell exist

Rationale: Cell exists in various forms and at different levels of

complexity. The lowest of these is just a single cell and the highest, is

that in which the organism consists of aggregate of cells.

Behavioural objectives of the lessons: Students will be able after

performing the following activities to:

1. Identify organisms that exist at different levels of life.

2. Differentiate one form of existence from the other.

3. Identify the different activities carried out by single cell

organisms.

4. Draw the organism that are identified in objectives 1 above.

Pre-Test

The students should attempt to answer the following questions:

1. Name some organism that exist at different levels of life.

2. Say one difference between the unicellular level of existence and

the colonial level.

……………………………………………………………………

3. What are the different activities that carried out by single cell

organism

……………………………………………………………………

Forms in which living cell exist

Introduction

The cell has been referred to as the functional unit of life. It is

the smallest discrete form that can perform the life processes of

movement reproduction nutrition, irritability, growth excretion and

respiration. A cell which shows these abilities is a living cell. Such a

cell may exist in various forms based on the presence or absence of

dependence. The following forms are found:

1. Single independent forms:

When a single cell constitutes an organism such an organism is

said to be unicellular. A cell in this form requires no other cells to carry

on with life processes. A living cell existing in this form, may be free

living and independent in the sense that it lives in a natural physical

environment like water, soil or atmosphere air. Most unicellular

organisms like Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena and Chlamydomonas

live as single cell. Each cell, as a living unit, is capable of reproducing,

growing and dying, respiring, feeding, moving about, excreting and

responding to stimuli.

Activity

One is required to carry out this activity on one‟s own and draw

the teacher‟s attention when necessary.

Material Needed

Pond water, grass culture (hay infusion culture), microscope,

glass slide, cover slips, prepared sides of Amoeba, Euglena,

Chlamydomonas and Trypanosoma.

Method Procedure

a. Using a pipette place a drop of the grass culture on a slide.

b. Cover with the slip, being careful not to trap air – bubbles under

the cover slip.

c. Examine the preparation under low – power and then high –

power of the microscope.

d. Repeat the same with the pond water. Answer the following

questions.

1. What organisms do you find? ------------------------------------------

2. How many are fast moving? -------------------------------------------

3. Is there any organism with a clear structure for locomotion -------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Outline the activities that single cell organisms are able to carry

out.

5. Give examples of single cell organisms

6. Examine the prepared slides provided and make full labeled

diagrams, noting the organelles possessed by the organism.

Filamentous forms

Cells may be found organized into filaments. The best known of

such is the Spirogyra. In this organism cells are joined to form into a

chain called filament. Each of the cells is independent of the adjacent

cells both physiologically and reproductively. There are no cytoplasmic

connections between the cells.

Activity

One is expected to carry out the following activity and write

down one‟s observation, answering the questions that follow.

Material Required:

Fresh filament of spirogyra contained in pond water, forceps,

dropping tube, microscope, glass slides and cover slips.

Procedure:

a. Take a very little piece of a single filament of spirogyra and

mount it on a glass slide in a drop of water.

b. Place a cover slip over it, being careful not to trap air bubbles.

c. View under both low and high magnification of the microscope.

d. Draw, in detail what you see. Answer the following questions.

1. In one sentence describe the organization found.

2. How many cells do you have in the filament you are drawing?---

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Colonial Form

In some unicellular organisms reproduction by mitotic division

result in the production of daughter cells that may not separate into two

independent organisms. This soon develops into many individuals of

the organism, but all stick together. The cells may be held together by

an envelop of a gelatinous materials secreted by the cells. The cells are

independent both physiologically and reproductively. Some example

include volvox, pandorina, etc.

Activity

One is required to carry out this activity and write down one‟s

observations as well as answer the question that follows.

Materials Needed

Microscope, pond or ditch water sample, glass slide cover slips.

Procedure

1. Place a drop of the water sample on the glass slide.

II Cover with a cover slip.

III View your preparation under the microscope.

Watch out for aggregate of cells that exist in mass.

1. What is the difference between the observation in this activity

and the diagram drawn in the previous activities.

2. Draw your observations as much as you can.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Give examples of the organism that can exist in colony.

The teacher moves round the class evaluating the extent of

learning of each child, and at the same time attending to their questions

and clarifying any difficult aspect.

Unit Activity

1. What one relationship exist between the filamentous and colonial

organisms?

2. What is the peculiar nature of the filamentous organisms?

3. Name two organisms that belong to single cell organism.

Lessons Three and Four (Week 1)

Class - SS II

Topic - The unit of life

Unit - Cell as a living unit

Sub Unit 2 - Cell as part of Multi cellular organism

Rationale:

To ensure that students realize that in as much as cell exist in

lower forms, like single independent forms, filamentous form and

colonial form, cells still exist as part of multi cellular organisms.

Behavioural objectives of the lesson:

Students will be able after performing the following activities;

to:

1. Give examples of part of multi cellular organisms where cells

can be found.

2. Name the different types of tissues found in the living organisms.

3. Draw some tissue found in some organisms.

4. Name some organ systems and their function, which are formed

by functionally related organs.

Pre-Test


1. In what part of multicellular organisms are cells found

……………………………………………………………………

2. Mention some different types of tissues in living organisms

……………………………………………………………………

3. Name some systems and their function ………………………….

……………………………………………………………………

Cell as part of multi cellular organism

Introduction:

In the last unit, the forms in which living cells exist was studied,

it was found out that living cells exist as single independent organisms,

example Amoeba, as filament example spirogyra; in form of colony

example volvox. Cells can as well form part of the multi cellular

organisms.

Cell as part of a multi cellular organism

The Tissue Level – in organisms which are more complex, the

cells become specialized in performing a particular function. Most of

the cells are organized to form tissue. Tissues are a collection of cells,

having similar structure and performing similar functions. In organism

like hydra, there are several special kind of cells such as several cells,

primitive type of nerve cells, muscle cells and stings cells. A group of

each kind of cell works in a co-ordinated manner to carry out a

particular function. For example, the muscle cells work together to

shorten or lengthen the hydra‟s body; the nerve cells form a kind of

nerve net throughout the body to transmit impulse, these special groups

of cells are primitive tissues.

Activity 2.1

One is required to carry out the following activity on one‟s own

and draw the teacher‟s attention where necessary.

Materials Needed:

Microscopes, prepared slides containing body wall of a hydra.

Method / Procedure:

a. Using the microscope, mount the prepared slide of the hydra.

b. Be careful in adjusting the eye piece, so as not to crack the

microscope.

c. Answer the following questions.

1. Draw and label the body wall, showing the various cells about

3cm in length.

2. Give a brief description of the cells seen in the microscope.

The Organ Level:

In higher plants and animals, different tissues are grouped

together to form a structure or an organ with a special function. In other

words, an organ is a collection of tissues in one part of the body of an

organism, which are organized to perform the same over all function.

Group of tissues that work in co-ordinated manner is known as an

organ. The heart is an organ made up of muscle tissue, connective

tissue, nervous tissues and vascular tissue. These tissues work in a co-

ordinated manner and enable the heart to carry out the broader function

of pumping blood continuously. Each tissue by itself can only do part

of the job or function.

Activity 2.2

One is required to carry out the following activity on one‟s own

and draw the teacher‟s attention where necessary.

Material Needed:

Displayed heart of a goat cut into longitudinal section (to show

the vascular tissues, the muscular tissues).

a. Observe carefully the organ displayed and identify the various

tissues that make up the organ __________________________

b. What is the name of the organ ___________________________

c. What is the function of the organ in the body _______________

d. From the knowledge gained from this unit, name other organ in

the body of higher animals ______________________________

Lesson Five and Six (Week 2)

Class - SS II

Topic - The Unit of Life

Unit 2 - The Cell

Sub Unit 3 - The Cell Theory

Rationale: The idea of cell theory which is that cell is the basic unit of

all living things was firmly established by two German scientists who

compared their slides of plant and animal tissues.

Behavioural objectives of the lesson: The students will be able after


1. State the cell theory properly.

2. Identify the scientists who contributed in the cell theory.

3. Narrate the history of cell theory.

4. Differentiate between the structure of the cell and cell theory.

5. Draw what they observe in the microscope.

Pre-Test


1. State the cell theory ………………………………………………

2. Who were the scientists who contributed to the cell theory?

The Cell Theory

Introduction

A cell is the smallest or the basic, unit of life. It is the smallest

unit of matter (protoplasmic unit), which may meaningfully be

described as living.

History of cell theory

The first scientist who was known to describe cell was Robert Hooke

in 1665. He was the first to use the term “cell”. He called the little pore he

saw when he examined thin slices of cork? He was one of the first people to

make use of microscope.

Activity 3.1

One is required to carry out this activity on one‟s own and draw the

teachers‟ attention when necessary.

Material Needed:

Onion, leaf stalks, sectioning knife, microscope, glass slide, cover

slips, dropping tube, forceps, iodine solution, biological stains e.g. methyl

blue, eosin.

Method/Procedure

i. Using a pair of forceps, peel off carefully a piece of onion skin from

an onion leaf.

ii. Place a little piece of the onion skin in a drop of water on a glass slide.

iii. Keep the onion skin flat on the glass slide. View under the lowest

power of the microscope.

iv. Repeat but this time place the onion skin in a drop of iodine solution

placing cover slip on preparation. View again but this time turning

the objective of the microscope, first to medium and then to high

power.

v. Repeat but place onion skin in a drop of the biological stain provided

and make a drawing of two or three of the clearest of these cells.

vi. Answer the following questions.

a. How many cell types do you observe?...................................................

b. Describe the shape of the cell observed?................................................

…………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………

c. What is the nature of the cell wall?.........................................................

…………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………

18 By 39, Mathias Schleiden and Theodore Schwann were sufficiently

convinced to declare that all organisms were indeed composed of units called

cells. The essence of the cell theory implies that:

- all living organisms consist of cells.

- all living things are either single cells or group(s) of cells and

- There is no life apart from the life of cells.

The teacher moves round evaluating the extent of learning of each

child, and at the same time attending to their questions and clarifying any

difficult aspect.

Unit Activity

1. The first scientist to describe the cell was __________________


slice of cork under the microscope was ____________________

3. What are the names of the two scientists associated with the cell

theory? _______________________ and ___________________

Lessons Seven and Eight (Week 3)

Class SS II

Topic The Unit of Life

Unit 2 The Cell

Sub Unit 4 The Cell Structure and Function of the Cell

Rationale: There are plant cells and animal cells which have different

structures. These cells can be reviewed with the aid of microscope.

They have different organelles which have different functions.

Behavioural Objectives of the Lessons: Students will be able after

performing the specified activities to:

1. Identify plant cells and animal cells with afferent organ cells

found in them.

2. Differentiate between the diagram of plant cells and animal cells.

3. Explain and enumerate the functions of the organelles in plant

and animal cells.

4. Draw a well-labelled diagram of plant and animal cells.

Pre-Test

The students attempt to answer the following questions:

1. Mention some organelles found in the cell ……………………...

2. Mention two differences between plant and animal cells ………..

…………………………………………………………………....

3. Name any three organelles found in the cell and say their function

……………………………………………………………………

The cell structure and function of the cell

Introduction

A cell proves to be a remarkably complex structure containing a

variety of organelles. Recent developments in techniques, which study

the chemistry of cells, are rapidly advancing our knowledge of the

work of each organelles.

The main organelles of plant and animal cells and functions

Organelle Description Function

1.

2.

3.

4.

Nucleus

Nuclear membrane

Cell membrane

Endoplasmic

reticulum (ER)

Rough ER

Largest structure in a cell,

and usually spherical

Double membrane around

the nucleus with pores

Outmost part of the animal

cell consists of lipid

molecules and protein.

Network of tubes in

cytoplasm, continuous with

cell and nuclear membranes.

Endoplasmic reticulum with

Ribosome arranged along it

Controls the cell activities

and contains the genetic

material

Controls movement of

substances into and out of

the nucleus. Keeps nuclear

material in place.

Selectively controls

movement of substances

into and out of the cell.

Involved in transportation of

substances within the cell

between the cell and its

surroundings.

Involved in transportation of

substances within the cell

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

Smooth ER

Ribosome

Mitochondria

Lysosomes

Golgi apparatus

Nucleolus

Centrioles

Chloroplasts

Endoplasmic reticulum

without ribosome.

Tiny spheres, often along

surface of rough ER.

Relatively large, often cigar-

shaped

Thin-walled bodies

containing enzymes.

A series of disc-shaped sacs.

Dense, solid body inside

nucleus.

Two small granules near

nucleus of animal cells

Usually relatively large

organelles in plant cells.

Contain chlorophyll.

between the cell and its

surroundings.

Where proteins are

synthesized.

Where main stages of

aerobic respiration occur

Ingest and destroy foreign

substances.

Concentrates and store

secretions made in the cell.

Concerned with RNA

transcription.

Take part in cell division

Site of photosynthesis.

Activity 4.1

Carry out these activities and draw the attention of the teacher when

necessary.

Materials Required

Mounting needle, glass slide, microscope, methylated spirit, dropping

tube, distilled water.

Method/Procedure

1. Gently scrape out the underside of the little fingernail using the

mounting needle.

2. place some of the scrapping on two glass slides. Mount one of

the slide in a drop of saliva and the other in a drop of distilled

water.

3. dip the same little finger into some alcohol and then allow it to

dry.

What do you observe?

4. run the fingernail lightly across the inside of the check. Place

some of the scraping‟s on the two glass slide. Again, mount one

of the slide in a drop of distilled water.

5. gently place a cover slid over each preparation. Examine under

low and then high power. Draw a few of the check called and

answer the following question.

a. Are they different from the epidermal cells of the onions………..

b. If different explain the differences observed …………………….

c. Draw a well-labelled diagram of plant and animal cells

indicating all the important organelles.

The teacher goes round to see how the students are following and

guides them where necessary.

Sub Unit Activity

1. The ribosomes on a cell are responsible for --------------------------

2. What is the function of the mitochondria? ---------------------------

3. The thread-like structure in a nucleus that contain the genes are

the ------------------------------------

4. The green colour of leaves in a plant is made possible due to the

presence of ----------------------------------------------------------------

5. The work of the nucleus is to ------------------------------------------

Lesson Nine (Week 3)

Class SS II


Unit 2 The Cell

Sub Units The Cell

Sub Unit 5 The differences and similarities between plant and animal

cells.

Rationale – Plants and animals cells has some similar characteristics as

they are all living things. Considering that they belong to different

groups in classification of living things, they also have some

differences in their cells.

Behavioural Objectives of the lesson: Students will be able after


1. appreciate the similarities in plant and animal cells.

2. differentiate between plants and animal cells.

3. draw the observed plant and animals cells in the microscope.

Pre-Test

The students should attempt to answer the following question.

1. Mention two similarities between plant and animal cells

……………………………………………………………………

2. Mention two differences between plant and animal cells

……………………………………………………………………

Differences and similarities between plant and animal cells

Introduction

Plant and animals are the two groups of living things. They have

their differences and similarities and so plant and animal cells, which

are the basic unit of life, can also be compared to identify its

similarities and differences.

However the comparison of plants and animals cells are

enumerate below.

Plant Cell Animal Cell

Cell boundary

Nucleus

Cytoplasm and

vacuoles

The cell-membrane or plasma

membrane of the plant cell is

surrounded on it outside by a

relatively stiff probably thick, cell-

wall.

The nucleus of plant cells are

usually off center embedded in the

restricted cytoplasm.

Plant cells have many large

vacuoles which contain water and

various salts.

Animal cells have

relatively fragile cell

membranes which are

chemically more complex

than the cellulose of plant

cell walls.

In the animal cell, the

nucleus is usually central

in position.

There are usually no such

vacuoles in animal cells.

Contractile vacuoles are

present in protozoans.

Plastids

Stored food

Centrioles

Size

The most common plastids in the

green plant are those containing

chlorophyll, (chloroplasts).

The stored food in plant cells are

mostly starch granules.

These are absent in plant cells

Plant cells are relatively large in

size.

Animal cell does not have

chloroplasts.

The stored food in animal

cell are in form of

glycogen granules.

Centriole are present in

animal cells.

Apart from the egg of

birds, animal cells are

usually small in size.

Activity 5.1:

One is expected to carry out the following activities. Draw the

attention of the teacher when there is need for assistance.

Material Needed: Fresh filaments of spirogyra, prepared slides of

Amoeba, forceps, dropping tube, microscope, glass slides and cover

slips.

Method/Procedure: Mount a single filament of spirogyra in a drop of

water. Place a cover slip and view in both high and low magnification

of the microscope.

i. Draw in detail what you see,

ii. View prepared slide of Amoeba and draw in detail

iii. Compare and contrast the two drawn specimens,

The teacher monitors the students activities properly.

Sub-Unit Activity

1. What is the difference between the plant and animal cells in

relation to their cell boundaries? …………………………………

.……………………………………………………………….......

2. Chloroplast is found in both plant and animal cells. True/False

3. Mitochondria are found only in plant cells. True/False

Lesson Ten and Eleven (Week 4)

Class: SS II

Topic: The Unit of Life

Unit: The cell and its environment

Sub Unit 6: Diffusion

Rationale: No cell, tissue and organ live in isolation but continually

interact with its surroundings. Diffusion is one of the processes of

exchange of material between cell and its environment.

Behavioural Objective of the Lesson: Students will be able after


1. define the term diffusion

2. demonstrate the process of diffusion

3. identify and appreciate the factors that affects the rate of

diffusion

4. enumerate the biology significance of diffusion

5. Draw diagram showing how to demonstrate diffusion.

Pre-Test


1. What is diffusion? ………………………………………………..

2. Mention at least 3 factors that affect diffusion

……………………………………………………………………

3. What are the biological significance of diffusion

……………………………………………………………………

Diffusion

Introduction

Diffusion is the movement of solute (gas or liquid) from a region where

it is more concentrated to a region where it is less concentrated.

Diffusion occurs because the molecules of gases and liquids are in

constant, random movement. They tend to spread through any available

space until they are evenly distributed throughout the space.

Activity 6.1

The student is expected to carryout the activity and call in

attention of the teacher where necessary.

To demonstrated liquid diffusion

Materials Required

Distilled or rain water, pipette, copper, sulphate, glass jar.

Method/Procedure

1. Pour about 100cm3

of distilled or rain water into a tall glass jar

and allow it to settle.

2. From a pipette placed, slowly run about 25cm3

copper sulphate

solution.

A. What does it form?..........................................................................

3. Leave the jar undisturbed for two or more days and examine it

daily.

a. What do you observe?....................................................................

b. Draw a well labeled diagram showing what you have just

demonstrated.

Diffusion can also be demonstrated in a gaseous form.

Activity 6.2

The students are required to carry out this activity on their own

and draw teacher‟s attention when needed.

Material Required

Litmus solution, test-tube, water, hydrochloric acid, tissue paper,

rubber band, basin or sink, ammonia solution.

Method/Procedure

1. Add a few drops of litmus solution to a test-tube of water.

2. Add sufficient hydrochloric acid to turn the litmus red.

3. Use tissue paper to cover the mouth of the test-tube and fasten

with a rubber band.

4. Invert the test-tube over a basin or sink to make sure it does not leak.

Place the inverted test-tube over an open bottle of ammonia solution,

taking care not to breathe in the fumes.

a. What do you observe?.....................................................................

……………………………………………………………………

b. If there is a colour change what colour do you observe?

……………………………………………………………………

Having seen how diffusion occur, there are factors that can affect

the rate of diffusion. They are

1. Whether it is a gas or a liquid: gaseous diffusion is faster than

liquid diffusion as demonstrated above.

2. Molecular size: other factors being equal substances with large

molecules diffuse more slowly than those with small molecules.

3. Temperature: the higher the temperature, the faster the fluid

diffuses.

4. Concentration gradient: this is the difference between the

concentration of the fluid in the area it is moving from, and the

area it is moving towards. The greater the difference, the faster

the fluid diffuses, other factors being equal.

Having understood diffusion properly.

c. Give examples of diffusion processes in nature …………………

……………………………………………………………………

(The teacher move round the class evaluating the extent of

learning of each child, and at the same time attending to their

questions and clarifying any difficult aspect).

The biological significances of diffusion is that it facilitates the movements

of gases between an organism and its surroundings, such as in respiration and

photosynthesis. This movement is usually along a concentration gradient.

Unit Activity –

1. the perception of the odour from a rotten egg broken at a corner

of the class is made possibly by ---------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. diffusion usually occur along ------------------------------------------

gradient

3. The life processes where diffusion play prominent role are

during ------------------ and ----------------------------------------------

Lessons Twelve and Thirteen (Week 4)

Class SS II


Unit 3 The cell and its environment

Sub Unit 7 Osmosis

Rationale: Osmosis is one of the process through which cells interact

with its environment. It involves exchange of material between cell

and its environment.

Behavioural Objective of the Lesson: Students will be able to after


1. Explains the meaning of osmosis

2. Draw the diagram of an osmotic process.

3. Outline the biological significance of osmosis

Pre Test


1. What is Osmosis?.......................................................................

2. Outline the biological significance of osmosis …………………

…………………………………………………………………..

Osmosis

Introduction

Osmosis is the passage of the molecules of a solvent from a less

concentrated to a more concentrated solution, through a semi-

permeable membrane. The membrane is said to be semi-permeable

because it allows solvent molecules, but not solute molecules to pass

through it.

Activity 7.1: Demonstrating Osmosis

The student is expected to carry out the following activity and

write down his/her observation, answering the questions that follow.

Material Needed: 3 thistle funnels, cellophane, candle wax, pipette,

sugar, test tube, 3 beakers.

Method / Procedure

1. Prepare three thistle funnels by tightly fitting a piece of

cellophane or parchment around the base of each, fix with an

elastic band, seal the edge with melted candle wax to make it

watertight.

2. Set up three apparatus with the beakers and labeled A, B and C.

To make the strong sugar solution, gradually add household

sugar to water and stir until no more dissolve. The funnels are

filled by slowly releasing the appropriate liquid down the inside

wall from a pipette.

3. Mark the position of the liquid in each tube at the start of the

demonstration and again in about an hour.

a. Does the level rise in B?

b. Do you notice anything in A and C

If the level rises in B, but A and C remain unchanged, then

osmosis has been demonstrated.

c. Draw the experimental set up of osmosis.


learning of each child, and at the same time, attending to their questions

and clarifying any difficult aspect.

For water to rise in B in the above activity, the pressure in thistle

funnels must be more than the atmospheric pressure pressing down on

the liquid surface. This is known as the osmotic pressure or osmotic

potential. The osmotic pressure varies in relation to the concentration of

the solutions involved. For example a 30% solution has a higher

osmotic potential than a 10% solution of the same substance.

Osmosis is a process of the living cell. It is very important to

cells. It will not take place in dead cells.

Activity 7.2: Demonstrating Osmosis in living tissue.

Material Required

Two young (unripe) paw-paw fruits or 4 irish-potato tubers,

knife, concentrated sugar solution, three beakers boiling water.

Method/Procedure

1. Prepare a concentrated sugar solution as in the previous activity.

2. Cut each paw-paw fruit into two, to produce four halves of which

only three will be used.

3. Peel the bottom of each half of the paw-paw fruit and slice the

bottom off, so that it will sit in the beaker.

4. Into one paw-paw half, A, pour some water. Mark the level and

set it aside. Into another half, B, pour some of the concentrated

sugar solution and similarly mark the level and set aside.

5. Place the third paw-paw half, C, in the boiling water for one to

two minutes. The treatment kills the cells of the fruits. Then cool

the fruit.

6. Pour some of the concentrated sugar solution into this treated

fruit, which now become specimen C. mark the level.

7. Then place each specimen in a beaker of water. Allow to stand

for two to three hours.

a. What do you observe?..................................................................

b. Account for the differences between your observations in A and

B, as well B and C ……………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………

Biological Significance of Osmosis: Osmosis allows the movement of

water in and out of living cells. This movement follows the

concentration gradient of the solution in and out of the cells.

Osmosis plays key roles in: opening and closing of stomata, the

movement of water from the soil into plants through the root hairs, the

enlargement of plant cells, the turgidity of plant cell.

Unit Activity

1. The membrane that is very important for osmosis to occur is

____________________________________________________

2. The passage of water or solvent molecule from a less

concentrated to a more concentrated solution, through a semi-

permeable membrane is known as ________________________

3. The turgidity of plant cells are caused by ___________________

Lesson Fourteen (Week 5)

Class SS II



Sub Unit 8 Plasmolysis

Rationale: Plasmolysis rarely occurs in nature, but is easy to induce

experimentally. It also involves exchange of materials between cell

and its environment.

Behavioural Objective of the Lesson: Students will be able after


1. Explain the meaning of plasmolysis

2. Identify when plasmolysis occurs outside the classroom laboratory

setting.

3. Draw a set up of plasmolysis

Pre Test


1. What is Plasmolysis? …………………………………………….

2. What can cause plasmolysis in a cell? …………………………

Plasmolysis

Introduction

If a plant cell is placed in a solution that is more concentrated

than it contents, water passes out of the cell by osmosis. After a time,

its vacuoles collapse and the cytoplasm shrinks away from the cell

wall. A plant cell in this condition is said to be plasmolysed.

Activity 8.1

The student is required to carry out this activity on his/her own

and draw the teacher‟s attention when necessary.

Materials Needed:

Filaments of spirogyra, pond water, microscope, blotting paper

epidermis of onion bulb.

Method/Procedure

1. Mount a few filaments of spirogyra or epidermis of onion bulb in

pond water and observed under the low power of the microscope.

Note that the cells are turgid.

2. Remove the pond water with blotting paper, and replace with a

drop of strong salt solution. Observe the cells becoming

plasmolysed as water moves out of the cells into the salt solution

by osmosis.

3. Remount the spirogyra or epidermis of onion bulb in pond water

and watch as the turgidity of its cells is restored.

a. Explain your observations when in salt solution --------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

b. What is your observation when remount is pond water? -----------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------


learning of each child, and at the same time, attending to their

questions.

Lesson Fifteen (Week 5)

Class SS II


Unit The cell and its environment

Sub Unit 9 Haemolysis

Rationale: Haemolysis does not normally happen, this is because the

human bodies usually maintain the same osmotic pressure between the

red blood cells and the fluid around them. But it is necessary to learn

the reaction of the red blood cells to the concentration of fluid around

them.

Behavioural Objective: Students will be able to:

a. Explain the meaning the haemolysis

b. Name one area of the mammalian body where it occurs

c. Mention the conditions that facilitate haemolysis

Pre-Test


1. What is haemolysis? ……………………………………………..

2. Name one area of mammalian body where haemolysis can occur

……………………………………………………………………

3. Name one condition that facilitate haemolysis ………………….

Introduction

When a living cell is placed in a medium with less osmotic

potential than the cytoplasm of the cell, water molecules pass into the

cell by osmosis. This leads to increase in volume of the vacuole and

the protoplasm. The cell content presses against the cell wall in all

directions causing it to be very firm and in some cases leading to the

bursting of the cell. This is known as heamolysis when it occurs in red

blood cells.

Activity 9.1

The student is required to carry out the following activity and

write down his/her observations, answering the questions that follow:

Material Needed:

Fresh blood, strong salt solution, microscope, distilled water,

Petri dish.

Method:

1. Mix a drop of fresh blood (may be from a newly killed rate) with

a drop of strong salt solution, and observe under low and high

powers of the microscope.

a. What is your observation -----------------------------------------------

2. Mix a second drop of blood with a drop of distilled water and

observe the red blood cells.

b. Write down your observations -----------------------------------------

Sub Unit 9 Activity:

1. The swelling and rupture of red blood cells is called ---------------

2. The loss of water from a cell when placed in solution more

concentrated than it is known as ---------------------------------------

3. Haemolysis is likely to occur in the red blood cells when ---------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lesson Sixteen (Week 5)

Class SS II



Sub Unit 10 Active transport

Rationale: There are instances during which the general law governing the

direction of flow of materials may not be obeyed.

Behavioural Objectives:

The students at the end of the activities should be able to

a. Explain active transport

b. Outline the biological significance of active transport

c. Outline the qualities of the cells carrying out active transport

Pre Test


1. What is active transport? …………………………………………

2. What is the biological significance active transport? ……………

……………………………………………………………………

3. Give one quality of a cell that carry out active transport ……….

……………………………………………………………………

Introduction

In certain processes solutes pass into or out of cells against the

concentration gradient. That is, solutes may pass through a membrane

from a region of lower concentration to one of higher concentration.

This is opposite of what happens in diffusion and osmosis. Such

movement is described as active transport. Unlike osmosis, it is not

solely a physical process. Rather, it seems that there are chemicals

which actively carry specific molecules across the membrane, using up

energy in the process.

Biological importance of active transport

Active transport is particularly important in cells living the gut,

where absorption of digested food substances occurs, selective

absorption by the kidney and intake of mineral salts by root hairs.

Qualities of cells that is carrying out active transport:

Cells carrying out active transport have:-

Numerous mitochondria

A high concentration of ATP, and

A high cellular respiratory rate

Unit Activity: 10

1. What is active transport? ------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Why is energy needed during active transport? ---------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. Name one biological significance of active transport ---------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. What is the basic requirement of a cell that carries out active

transport? ------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPENDIX H

TEACHERS GUIDE TO THE LEARNING ACTIVITY

PACKAGE (LAP)

Lesson 1 and 2 – forms in which living cells exist.

Unit 1 sub unit 1 form in which living cells exist

Activity 1.1

1. The likely organisms are – Amoeba, Euglena, paramecium,

chlamydomona spirogyra, etc.

2. This depends on your observation as you look through their

microscope. Some fast moving organisms are Amoeba, Euglena,

paramecium. This is because of their motile structure.

3. If the student can identify Euglena, paramecium and Amoeba the

answer is likely to be yes.

4. The activities include – Nutrition, reproduction, responsiveness,

movement, excretion, growth and respiration.

5. Examples of unicellular organisms are Amoeba, Euglena,

Paramecium, etc.

6. Diagrams of the organisms on the prepared slide.

Activity 1.2

D. Diagram of spirogyra

1. The organism is in form of a thread with lines of demarcation

between the compartments. Each compartment is identical to the

other. Inside each compartment are tiny threads that are spiral in

nature.

2. This depends on the observations made (2, 3, 4, 5, etc).

Activity 1.3

1. If the colonial form the existence is observed, the student should

be able to say that:

a. Presence of similar cells that exist in a mass while in the other

observations there are single cells and also there are similar cells

arranged end to end in a thread like form.

2. Teacher looks at the observation drawn by each student and

observe the slide under the microscope and see the relationship

and guide appropriately.

3. Volvox

Sub Unit 1 Activity

1. They consist of cells that are similar vegetatively.

2. All the cells of the filaments are vegetatively identical and are

arranged end to end in a thread like form.

3. Amoeba, chlamydomonas, Euglena and Paramecium.

Unit 1 Subunit 2 – Cell as part of Multicellular Organism

Activity 2.1

1. Labeled diagram of the body wall of hydra

a. Epitheliomuscular cells:

- They are columnar cells with a based ending.

- The end has one or two processes that penetrates the mesoglea.

- The distal end is expanded and they are joined one to another.

b. Interstitial cells

- They are found between the musculo-epithelia cells.

- Are irregular or spherical in shape with nuclei.

c. Nematoblast / Cnidoblasts

- These are oval or spherical cells found within the musculo-

epithelial cells.

- There is a nucleus and a swollen mouth.

- Contain a coiled thread – like structure.

d. Glandular cells

- They are fairly large with dense cytoplasm and large nuclei

e. Sensory cells

- These are narrow cells found between the musculo-epithelial

cells.

- Their nucleus are small

- The outer end contains a small sensitive rod-like projection.

- The inner end contains a long thread like structure (nerve fibre).

f. Nerve cells

- These are located in the mesoglea

- There are several fine branched thread like structure (branched

processes nerve fibres) that meet each other.

Activity 2.2

a. - Vascular tissues

- Muscular tissues

- Connective tissues

- Nervous tissues

b. A heart

c. Pumps blood to all parts of the body

d. Liver, stomach, kidney, pancreas, lungs, bladder, eyes, ears,

nose, brains, muscles, testes, ovaries, etc.

Unit 1 Subunit 3 – The cell theory

Activity 3.1

a. One cell type – the epidermal cells.

b. The cells are oblong or more of rectangular shape

c. The cell wall is thick with double line.

Sub unit 2 Activity

1. Robert Hooke -

2. Robert Hooke –

3. Mathias Schleden and Theodore Schwann

Unit 2

Sub unit 4 – The cell structure and function of the cell components.

Activity 4.1:

a. They are different from the epidermal cells of the onions.

Skin from onion scale leaf

The wall demarcating each cell is thick

(cellulose)

Nucleus usually by the side cell

The cells are rectangular in shape

Check lining cells

The wall demarcating each cell is

thin

Nucleus usually centralized

The cells are oval or spherical in

shape

b. Diagram of plant and animal cells

Sub unit 4 Activity

1. synthesis of protein

2. it is responsible for the generation of energy

3. chromosomes

4. chlorophyll / chloroplast

5. control the cells activities

Unit 2

Sub unit 5 – Differences and similarities between plant and animal

cells

Activity 5.1

Diagram of spirogyra:

iii. Diagram of Amoeba

iv. Comparison of spirogyra and Amoeba

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sub unit 5 Activity

1. Plant cells are made up of cellulose cell wall while animal cells

do not contain cellulose.

2. False

3. False

UNIT 3

Sub Unit 6 – Diffusion

Activity 6.1

2a. It will form a distinct blue layer beneath the water.

3a. When left for a long time it becomes evenly distributed through

the water.

b.

Activity 6.2

a. A blue stream moves up through the test tube as the molecules of

ammonia gas diffuse through the liquid and turn the litmus blue.

b. Blue colour.

c. Respiration and photosynthesis.

Sub Unit 6 Activity

1. Diffusion

2. Concentration gradient

3. Respiration and photosynthesis

Sub unit 7 – Osmosis

Activity 7.1: Demonstrating Osmosis

a. The level rises in B thistle funnel

b. There is no change in the level of the liquid in A and C

c.

Activity 7.2 – Demonstrating Osmosis in Living Tissue.

a. There is a rise in the sugar solution in B but no rise in A and C.

b. The differences in experiment A and B are due to the fact that

the paw-paw in A is alive and contains water and there is also

water in the beaker, so the two are isotonic.

While in B, the paw-paw is also alive but contains sugar solution

making it hyper-tonic to the water in the beaker on the other

hand the paw-paw in C is dead in as much as it contains sugar

solution.

Sub unit 7 Activity

1. Semi permeable membrane

2. Osmosis

3. Osmosis

Sub unit 8: Plasmolysis

Activity 8.1

a. As the pond water is being replaced with strong salt solution, the

cells start to shrink away from the cell wall, due to loss of water.

It became flaccid.

b. When it was remount in pond water the cells regained water and

it became turgid again.

Sub Unit 9 – Haemolysis

Activity 9.1

a. The red blood cells shrink and become wrinkled as they lose

water by osmosis.

b. The red blood cells swell up and burst as they gain water by

osmosis.

Sub Unit 9 Activity

1. Haemolysis

2. Plasmolysis

3. Haemolysis is likely to occur in the red blood cells when there is

differences in the osmotic potential of red blood cells and the

body fluid.

Sub Unit 10 – Active Transport

Sub Unit Activity 10

1. This is the movement of solutes in and out of the cells against the

concentration gradient.

2. Energy is needed because active transport is a physical process

and there are chemicals whose activity carry specific molecules

across the membrane.

3. Intake of mineral salts by the root hairs, absorption by the small

intestine; selective reabsorption by kidney.

4. Cells are rich in mitochondria.

APPENDIX I

LECTURE METHOD LESSON PLAN

Lesson Plan for the first week

Class Senior Secondary School II (SS II)

Topic Form in which living cells exist

Duration 40 minutes for each lesson period.

Specific Objectives

At the end of the lessons given all the materials need all the

students of SS II should be able to:

1. Identify the various forms in which living cells exist.

2. Give examples of organisms that exist in these various levels.

3. Name the activities that are carried out by organisms that exist as

single independent form.

4. Outline the differences between the different forms of existence.

Instructional Materials

Pond water, pipette, forceps, dropping tube microscope glass

slide, cover slip.

Entry Behaviour

The students have learnt about micro-organism in their SS I and

can name some of them.

Entering Behaviour Tests:

The following questions are asked by the teacher to set induct the

students.

a. What are micro-organisms?

b. Name some micro-organisms

c. In what form do most micro-organisms exist?

Period One:

Content Teacher’s Activity Student Activity Strategies / Skills

Introduction The teacher introduces the lesson by

asking them questions like (a) What

is a cell? (b) What is the make up of

your body? The teacher explains

that cell is the functional unit of life

and can exist in various forms based

on the extent of dependence.

The students

answer the

questions and listen

to the teacher‟s

explanation.

Set induction

Single

independent

form

Step 1

Explains that living cells can exist as

a single independent form and are

said to be unicellular and can still

carry out all the life activities e.g.

Amoeba, Paramecium,

Chlamydomonas.

Watch teacher and

listen to the

teacher‟s

explanation

Explanation

Step II The life activities include,

movement, reproduction gaseous

exchange, nutrition, irritability, etc

Step III The teacher meant slides of these

organisms or draw on the

blackboard to show the organelles

and their function

The students

observe and listen

to the teacher

Evaluation The teacher asks these questions:

(a) Give examples of organisms that

exist in this form

(b) what life activities can they

perform.

Period two and three

Content Teacher’s Activity Student Activity Strategies / Skills

Filamentous

form

The teacher explains that apart from the

cellular form some living cells exist as

filament. Example spirogyra. In which

the cells are formed into a chain, each cell

being independent of the adjacent cells.

The teacher writes important points on the

board and asks them questions. The

teacher draws the diagram of the

spirogyra using it to explain the

independency of each compartment, this

include the activities of the cells, like,

photosynthesizing possession of nucleus.

What is a filament? Given an example.

The students

watch the teacher

and listen to the

teacher‟s

explanation. They

also attempt to

answer the

teacher‟s

questions.

Explanation and

questioning

Colonial

form

The teacher explains that some cells exist

in aggregate mass, held together by an

envelope of a gelatinous cytoplasmic

materials, this is know as colony, example

volvox. Each of these aggregate of cells

can break off and live independently but

when fully matured they divide

mitotically to give rise to new cells that

are held together.

The student‟s

listen and watch

the teacher

Explanation

The teacher ask the students to view the

microscope in which this various forms

have being displayed and note what, they

observe and draw as he draw the diagrams

on the board.

The student‟s

move to the

microscope and

observe and note

their observations

and draw the

diagram on the

board in their

books

Observations,

drawing and

taking down notes

Evaluation The teacher asks the following question

2) Mention questions:

1) What are the various forms in which

cells the organizations that exist in theses

forms

3) What differences exist between the

filamentous and colonial forms

4) What activities are carried out by each

form.

The students

answer the

question.

A Lesson Plan for the Second Week

Subject: Biology

Class: SS 2

Duration: 40 minutes for each lesson period

Topic: Cell as part of multicellular organism and cell theory

Specific Objective: By the end of the lesson, the students should be

able to

1. Define a cell

2. Mention some plant and animal cells

3. Explain a cell as part of multicellular organism

4. Mention the first scientist to discover a cell

5. Make at least a statement about cell theory

6. Name the scientist that discovered the cell theory

Instructional Material: The SSCE biology textbooks, necessary

diagrams and charts.

Entering Behaviour: The students see different organisms around

them both in their schools and at their various homes.

Instructional Procedure: Period One

Content Teacher’s Activities Student

Activities

Strategy

Step I: SET

INDUCTION

The teacher asks the students

some questions based on their

previous knowledge. Look

around you what and what do

you observe? Mention the

organisms in your environments

The students look

around them and

mentions what

they observed.

Questioning

Step II:

The cell

The teacher defines a cell as the

basic unit of life. It is the

building block and fundamental

unit of any living organism.

The students

listens very

attentively.

Explanation

Cells are of various shapes and

sizes. The teacher shows the

diagram of a cell on a chart and

hangs it on the wall.

The students

observes the

diagram

Use of example

Step III The teacher explains to the

students that higher organism

contain number of cells and are

called multicellular organism

examples include spirogyra,

fungi, hydra, higher animals,

higher plants and even man.

The teacher asks the students to

mention some multicellular

organisms they see around them.

The students pay

attention and

answers teacher

questions

Explanation

Use of examples

Step IV The teacher says that man as a

multicellular organism has

various cells like bone cells,

blood cells, skin cells, sex cells,

plant contains, phloem cells,

epidermal cells, sclerenchyma

cells, and many others. The

teacher shows the various charts

and diagrams of these cells

The students

listens very

attentively.

Explanation

Use of example

Step V

Summary

and

evaluation

The teacher summarizes the

lesson briefly with students and

the teacher evaluates the

students by asking

1. Define a cell?

2. How is a cell part of a

multicellular organism? Mention

some animal and plant cells

The students

answer those

questions

Summary

Evaluation

Closers The teacher corrects the students

mistake, praises and encourages

them. The teacher issues out

some note to the students.

They copy the

notes

Closure

Period Two and Three

Instructional Procedure

Content Teacher’s Activities Student Activities Strategy

Step I

Introduction

The teacher revises the previous

lesson together with the students by

asking them evaluating question like –

Define a cell, mention some animal

cells.

Answer the

questions

Questioning

Step II

Cell theory

The teacher says that it was Robert

Hooke an English scientist that

discovered the cell with his crude

microscope in 1665. Those cells were

of a cork. In 1834 a French Biologist

named Dujardin discovered the living

part of a cell. It was celled

protoplasm. Later on a German

Botanist, Matthias Schleiden in 1838

discovered that plants were made of

cells. In 1839 another Germen

scientist, a Zoologist called Theodore

Schwann also discovered that animals

were built up of cells. The recent

discovery of both Schleiden and

Schwann formulated the cell theory in

1839.

The students listens

and take down notes

Explanation

Step III The teacher states the cell theory

which are

1) The cell is the basic unit and

functional unit of life

2) All living things are compose of a

cell or more.

3) All existing cells come from the

reproduction of cells.

4) A cell contains information for its

structural and functional development

in its nuclei acids which is transferred

down from parent to offspring.

The students listens

and put down points

into their books.

Explanation

Step IV

Summary

The teacher allows the students to ask

questions where they are not clear.

Then the teacher and the students

summarizes the lesson briefly.

The students ask

questions

Questioning

Summary

Step V

Evaluation

The teacher asks the students the

following questions.

The students answer

those questions

Evaluation

1) State the cell theory?

2) Who was the first man to discover

the cell? Who are the scientists that

formulated the cell theory. The

teacher corrects their mistakes, praises

and encourages the students

Closure The teacher issues out notes. The students copy

the notes.

Closure

The teacher asks the students some

questions based on their previous

knowledge that is related to the topic

at hand.

The students answer

the question.

Questioning

The teacher revise the week‟s work

together with the students.

The students

comply to the

lesson

Summary

The teachers makes some necessary

points about the lesson, issues out

notes to the students.

The students copy

down the note

inside their note

books

Closure

A Lesson Plan for the Third Week

Class: SS 2

Age: 16 years plus

Period: 3 periods

Duration: 40 minutes for one period

Topic: The cell structure and function of cells components, differences

and similarities between plant and animal cells.

Specific Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able

i. Mention at least three organelles found in a cell.

ii. State the functions of at least two organelles of cell.

iii. Give two differences between a plant and animal cells.

iv. Outline two similarities between a plant and animals cells.

v. Draw a typical plant and animal cells

Instructional Materials: The SSCE biology textbooks, available charts and

diagrams.

Entering Behaviour: The students have learnt about the cell and its

theory


Content Teacher’s Activities Stud. Activities Strategy

Step I

Introduction

and entering

behaviour test


some questions based on the

previous knowledge and

experience. Define a cell.

Mention some plant and animal

cells. Who was the first

scientist to discover a cell.

State the cell theory.

The students answer

the questions

Questioning

Step II

The cell

structure

The teacher teaches the

students that a cell has a

living material called

protoplasm which is enclosed

inside a plasma membrane.

The protoplasm is composed

of a cytoplasm and a nucleus.

The teacher hangs the cell

diagram on the wall for the

students to observe. The

teacher proceeds with the

lesson by allowing the

students to enumerate some

of the organelles they

observe from the diagram.

The students listen

very carefully to the

teacher

The students watch

and observe the cell

diagram. The

students names

those organelles.

Explanation

Use of

examples.

Step III

Function of

the cell

organelles

During this, the teacher

explains the functions of the

cell organelles, for example

the cell membrane otherwise

called plasma membrane is a

flexible structure made up of

protein and lipids and help to

protect the content of the cell

from escaping away from the

cell. It controls the materials

which enter or leave the cell.

The students pay

attention and put

down the points

Explanation

It is selective in function.

2) The protoplasm is the

cell living material made up

of the cytoplasm and the

nucleus.

3) The cytoplasm is the site

for many chemical reactions

that occur inside the cell. It

is a jelly like fluid containing

many organelles. It is

capable of specialization

causing differences in cell

types.

4) The nucleus is larges

organelle found in the

cytoplasm. It is bounded by

nuclear membrane. This

organelle controls all the

cellular activities especially

reproduction. Any cell that

loses its nucleus, dies within

a short time.

5) The vacuole is a large

central fluid filled space

found in plant cells. It

contains the cell sap. The

vacuole is bound by a

membrane called tonoplest.

6) The mitochondrion is a

sausage shaped body

surrounded by a double

membrane. It is the

organelle responsible for

cellular respiration and

reactions producing energy.

Active cells contain many

mitochondria.

7) The plastids are

organelles found in plant

cells which may be coloured

or colourless. The colourless

ones are called leucoplasts

while the coloured ones are

known as the chromoplasts.

The green chromoplasts

contain the chlorophyll

which helps plants to

undergo photosynthesis.

8) Endoplasmic reticulum is

network inter connecting

tubers that help in transport

of materials inside the cell.

Sometimes it is clustered by

ribosome to from rough

endosplasmic reticulum.

9) The ribosome are dot like

structures scattered within

the cytoplasm. They are the

sites for protein synthesis

within the cell.

10) Golgi body is also

known as golgi apparatus

made up of flattened

glandular tubes which are not

interconnected. They seem

to be involved in secretion of

materials in the cell and help

in transport of hormones and

enzymes in and out of the

cell.

11) Lysosomes are small

round sacs that contain

digestive enzymes which

break down structural

substances in the cell. They

also help in transport of

materials in and out of the

cell.

12) Centrioles are cell

feature that are found only in

animal cells. They are at

right angle to each other and

seem to be concerned with

cell division.

Step IV The teacher and the students

summaries the lesson briefly

The students

contribute to the

lesson – how

Summary

Step V

Evaluation


the following questions:

1) Mention at least three

organelles found in a cell?

2) State the functions of at

least two organelles found in

a cell?

The students answer

those questions

Questioning

Closure The teacher issues out notes

to the students

The copy the notes Closure

Period Two and Three



Step I

Introduction


some questions on the previous

lesson for instance: what is the

function of cell membrane?

Which organelle is most

important in the cell and why?

The students

answer the

question

Questioning

Step II

Differences

between

plant and

animals

cells

The teacher hangs up the

diagram of plant and animal

cells on the wall. The teacher

asks the students to observe

them closely, and mention

certain organelles, which are

present in one cell and not in

the other cell. The teacher

correct their mistakes.

The students

observe those

cells, and

mentions those

feature absent in

one cell but

present in the

other cell.

Questioning

Step III

Similarities

between

plant and

animals

cells

The teacher also asks the

students to enumerate those

organelles which are present in

both plant and animals cells.

The teacher guides them along

the lesson.

The students

enumerate them

as they observed

from the

diagrams

Questioning

Step IV

Summary

The teacher finally summarizes

the lesson by saying that

1) There is no cellulose cell

wall in animal cell but it is

present in plant cell and this

gives it a definite shape.

2) There is no plastids in

animals cell but is present in

plant cell.

3) There is the presence of

centriole in animal cell but it is

absent in plant cell.

4) In animals cells there is little

or no vacuoles with out cell sap

but plant cells have large

vacuoles filled with cell sap.

5) Animal cell stores

carbohydrate in form of

glycogen but plant cell stores it

in form of starch.

The students

listens and put

down the points.

Summary

Step V

Evaluation


1) Give two difference

between plant and animal cells?

2) Name two similarities

between plant and animal cells?

3) Draw a typical plant and an

animal cells?

The students

answer the

question and

draw the

diagram in their

note

Questioning

Closure The teacher issues out notes to

the students

They copy them Closure

A Lesson Plan for the Fourth Week

Class: SS 2

Age: 16 years and above

Duration: 40 minutes per period

Topic: The cell and its environment: diffusion: definition and

significance.

Osmosis – definition and significance

Specific Objectives: by the end of the lesson, the students should be

able to

1. Define the term diffusion

2. Give an example of a process that involves diffusion.

3. Say two importance of diffusion.

4. Define the term osmosis

5. Give one example of osmosis in living or non living materials.

6. State two importance of osmosis.

Instructional Materials: The SSCE biology textbooks, concrete

objects like necessary diagrams of diffusion process and osmosis.

Entering Behaviour: The students have learnt about cell, they

perceive odour of different perfumes.



Step I:

Introduction


some questions based on their

previous knowledge. If a

perfume is used at the back of

the class will the odour be

perceived all over

The students

answers the

question

Questioning

Step II:

Diffusion

The teacher defines the term

diffusion as a thermal process

The students

listen very

Explanation

by which ions and molecules of

substances move from their

area of high concentration to an

area of low concentration until

an equilibrium is reached. The

difference in concentration of

the substance in the regions

before diffusion occur is called

diffusion gradient. If the

diffusion gradient is large the

diffusion process is rapid, but it

slows down as the difference in

concentration becomes less.

Diffusion in concentration

becomes less. Diffusion is

affected by temperature

change. Diffusion occurs

rapidly in gases because the

molecules move freely. In

solids diffusion is extremely

very slow but in liquid it occurs

slowly.

actively

Step III:

Process of

diffusion

One can observe diffusion

process when some of

potassium permanganate is

dissolved in a beaker of water.

The teacher demonstrates it in

the class. Another instance is

when few drops of liquid

Bromine is put into a gas jar

and covered up. In living cells

diffusion occurs during

absorption of nutrients in plants

and animals. It is the process

by which respiration takes

place in organisms. Even

during transport of materials

inside the cell, diffusion takes

place.

The students pay

attention and put

down point.

The students

observed what is

happening.

The students

listen.

Demonstration

Explanation.

Step IV The teacher summaries the

lesson briefly

Summary

Step V:

Evaluation

The teacher asks

1. define the term diffusion

2. give one example of

diffusion process

3. mention one importance of

diffusion.

The students

answer the

questions

PERIOD TWO AND THREE


Step I:

Introduction

The teacher revises the last

lesson together with the

students.

The students

recell what they

learnt in the

previous lesson

Questioning

Step II:

Osmosis

The teacher defines osmosis as

a thermal process by which

solvent molecules pass through

a semi-permeable membrane

from a region of high

concentration to that of low

concentration

The students

listen very

carefully, put

down points

Explanation

Step III:

Osmotic

process

Importance

of Osmosis

The teacher demonstrates

osmosis in non living thing and

that of living tissues. Using

yam or unripe paw and

cellophane

The teacher explains also that

osmosis is a special type of

diffusion. Osmosis is very

important to living organisms.

It is the process by which water

and minerals salt enter the

plants through the root hairs. It

helps in the transport of

materials in cells and other

The students

observe and puts

down points

The students

listen and jot

point down

Demonstration

Explanation

activities of the cells.

Step IV: The teacher together with the

students summarize the lesson

briefly.

They contribute

to the lesson

Summary

Step V:

Evaluation


to:-

1. Define osmosis

2. Give an example of

osmosis?

3. What is the importance of

osmosis?

They respond to

the questions

Questioning

Closure The teacher dishes out notes to

the students

They copy the

notes

Closure

A Note of Lesson for the Fifth Week

Class: SS 2

Age: 16 years plus

Period: Three periods

Duration: 40 minutes per period

Topic: Plasmolysis, Haemolysis and Active Transport.

Specific Objectives: By the end of the lesson the students should be

able to

1. Define the term plasmolysis

2. Give an example of the process of plasmolysis

3. State the meaning of Haemolysis

4. Give an example of Haemolysis in living cell.

5. Explain active transport

6. State the importance of active transport in living cells.

Instructional Materials: The students textbooks on biology, charts

and some annotated diagrams.

Entering Behaviour: The students see some plants and vegetable dry

up.


Content Teacher’s Activities Stud.

Activities

Strategy

Step I:

Introduction


some questions based on the

previous knowledge and

experiences 1. What is

diffusion? 2. What is osmosis?

The students

answer the

questions

Questioning

Step II:

Plasmolysis

The teacher defines

plasmolysis as the shrinking of

protoplasm of plant cells from

their cell walls. It is caused by

loss of water from the cell

protoplasm to a hypertonic cell

surrounding. Plasmolysis

occurs through ex-osmosis.

The cell becomes week and

soft.

The students

pay attention to

the teacher

Explanation

Step III:

Plasmolysis

demonstration

Process

The teacher demonstrates it using

onions epidermis or that of a leaf,

use cover slide, water, salt

solution and microscope. The

onions epidermal cells are put on

a slide, a drop of water added and

they are covered up with cover

slide. The arrangement is viewed

under the microscope. All the

cells, appear normal and turgid.

Then blotting paper is used to

blot out water. Then salt solution

is added to the onion epidermal

cells.

The set up is left for about five

minutes after which it is observe

again.

The observation shows that cell

The students

pays attention,

observes and

notes down

point,

Demonstration

membrane pulls away from the

cell wall and also the volume of

the cells decrease. It them means

that cells plasmolyse when

surrounded by a hyper tonic

solution.

Step IV: The teacher summarizes the

lesson.

Step V:

Evaluation


the following:

i. What is plasmolysis

ii. Give its examples

The student

answer the

questions

Questioning

Closure The teacher gives them notes They copy the

notes

Closure

Periods Two and Three



Step I:

Set-

Introduction


certain questions on the

previous knowledge. What is

plasmolysis?

They answer the

questions

Questioning

Step II:

Haemolysis

The teacher says that

haemolysis is a process by

which a red blood cell when

placed in a hypotonic solution

such as water absorbs up much

water through endosmosis

process and swells up to the

extent that it burst out.

The students

listen very

attentively.

Explanation

Step III: The teacher shows the

chart/diagram of the process to

the students.

They watch the

diagram

Explanation

Step IV: The teacher summaries the

lesson together with the

students.

The students

respond where

necessary

Summary

Step V:

Active

Transport

The teacher explains that there

are certain life processes in

which the solutes pass into the

cells against the concentration

gradient. That is a solute passes

through a membrane from a

region of lower concentration to

one of higher concentration.

Such movement is describe as

active transport. This

movement is possible due to

presence of some chemicals

which actively carry specific

molecules across membranes

using up energy.

The students

listens

attentively

Explanation

Step VI:

Importance

It is very important in

absorption of food in the

intestine and in the root hairs.

The cells that carry out active

transport, contain a lot of

mitochondria.

Evaluation The teacher asks the students:

a. State the meaning of

heamolysis

b. Give example where it

occurs

c. What is active transport

d. Where does it occur

The students

answer the

question

Questioning

APPENDIX J

MARKING SCHEME FOR THE PRE-TEST (BAT)

1. C 20 C 39 C

2. D 21 A 40 A

3. D 22 C

4. B 23 E

5. C 24 D

6. A 25 A

7. C 26 B

8. C 27 D

9. C 28 C

10. B 29 B

11. D 30 E

12. B 31 D

13. E 32 D

14. D 33 A

15. D 34 B

16. B 35 B

17. B 36 A

18. A 37 A

19. C 38 D

APPENDIX K

MARKING SCHEME FOR POST-TEST (BAT)

1. D 26. A

2. E 27. E

3. D 28. B

4. C 29. C

5. A 30. A

6. A 31. A

7. D 32. B

8. B 33. D

9. C 34. E

10. D 35. D

11. B 36. B

12. B 37. B

13. D 38. C

14. B 39. B

15. D 40. D

16. E

17. A

18. D

19. A

20. A

21. C

22. B

23. C

24. D

25. B

APPENDIX L

SCHOOLS IN ENUGU EDUCATIONAL ZONE

Source: Statistical Section PPSMB Enugu Zonal Office (2006)

ENUGU EAST

S/N Name of School Type of School Population

of SS II

1. St. Patrick‟s Sec. School Emene Single Sex Boys 194

2. Girls Sec. School Emene Single Sex Girls 199

3. National Grammar School Nike Single Sex Boys 243

4. Girls‟ Sec. Sch. Abakpa Nike Single Sex Girls 248

5. New Haven Boys‟ Sec. Sch. Single Sex Boys 92

6. Trans-Ekulu Girls Sec. Sch. Single Sex Girls 246

7. Annunciation Sec. Sch. Nike Co-Educational 113

8. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Akpoga (Jnr) Co-Educational -

9. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Ugwogo Nike Co-Educational 82

10. Comm.. High Sch. Emene (Jnr) Co-Educational -

ENUGU NORTH


of SS II

1. Queen School Enugu Single Sex Girls 649

2. City Girls‟ Sec. Sch. Single Sex Girls 165

3. Urban G. S. S. Enugu Single Sex Girls 288

4. Metropolitan G. S. S. Enugu Single Sex Girls 273

5. Govt. Tech. College Enugu Co-Educational 781

6. Colliery Compre. S. S. Ngwo Single Sex Boys 90

7. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Iva Valley Co-Educational 113

8. New Layout Sec. Sch. (Jnr) Co-Educational -

9. Govt. Sec. Sch. Enugu (Jnr) Co-Educational -

10. Coal Camp Sec. Sch. Ogbete (Jnr) Co-Educational -

11. Junior Day Sec. Sch. Ind. L/Out

(Jnr)

Co-Educational -

ISI – UZO L.G.A.


of SS II

1. Comm. Sec. Sch. Neke Co-Educational 120

2. Isiuzo Sec. Sch. Ikem-Neke Co-Educational 104

3. Union Sec. Sch. Eha-Amufu Co-Educational 143

4. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Umuhu Co-Educational 190

5. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Eha Ohuala Co-Educational 112

6. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Mbu Co-Educational 154

7. Ogor Comm. Sec. Sch. Ikem Co-Educational 110

8. Comm.. Sec. Sch. Umualu Co-Educational 52

APPENDIX M

APPEAL FOR VALIDATION OF INSTRUMENT

Below are fifty multiple choice objective questions in Biology

based on the topic The Unit of Life which will be used as an instrument

in a research project.

The researcher hereby request that you validate the questions

based on the attached scope and table of specification. From the fifty

(50) questions it is the researcher request that 40 valid questions be

obtained checking the

- Clarity of the questions asked

- Appropriateness of the questions to the students level of

understanding and experience.

- Suitability of distractor.

- Coverage of the levels in the cognitive domain

The Scope

1. Cell as a living unit

- forms in which living cells exist

- cells as part of multicellular organism

2. The cell

- the cell theory

- the cell structure and function of cell components

- the differences and similarities between plant and animal cells

3. The cell and environment

- Diffusion

- Osmosis

- Active transport

- Plasmolysis

- Haemolysis

Table of Specification for the Pre-BAT Before Validation

S/N Content Knowledge

40%

Comprehensive

35%

Application

25%

Total

100%

1. The cell as a

living unit (20%)

4

1, 5, 16, 28

4

27, 40, 41, 45

2

48, 49

10

2. The cell (30%) 6

9, 13, 19,

20, 26, 39

5

2, 10, 11,18, 42

4

7, 12, 15, 44

15

3. The cell and its

environment 50%

10

3, 6, 22, 23,

25, 31, 33,

34, 43, 46

9

2, 8, 13, 16, 32,

35, 37, 42, 47

6

17, 24, 30,

36, 38, 50

25

4. TOTAL

100%

20 18 12 50

Table of Specification for the Post-BAT Before Validation

S/N Content Knowledge

40%

Comprehensive

35%

Application

25%

Total

100%

1. The cell as a

living unit (20%)

4

2, 8, 11, 26

4

5, 1, 22, 27

2

30, 38

10

2. The cell (30%) 6

3, 6, 10, 18,

19, 46

5

9, 17, 21, 37, 43

4

4, 24, 33, 44

15

3. The cell and its

environment 50%

10

7, 13, 24, 32,

34, 39, 40,

41, 42, 43

9

12, 15, 20, 23, 31,

35, 36, 47, 48

6

14, 16, 28,

29, 50, 49

25

4. TOTAL

100%

20 18 12 50

BIOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT TEST PRE (BAT) BEFORE

VALIDATION

INSTRUCTION

Each question is accompanies by four options lettered A to E.

Encircle the letter that corresponds with the answer to each question.

Example:

The organelles that synthesize carbohydrates in plant cells are:

A. Chromoplasts

B. ribosomes

C. mitochondria

D. chloroplasts

E. leucoplasts

1. Plants cells differ from animal cells in their possession of

A. large vacuoles

B. ribosomes

C. cytoplasm

D. nucleus

E. nucleic acid

2. Which of the following is not present in the nucleus of a cell?

A. chromosomes

B. nucleolus

C. mitochondria

D. genes

E. chromatin

3. Carbon dioxide enters the stomata during photosynthesis through

the process known as:

A. Osmosis

B. active transport

C. diffusion

D. inhalation

E. ventilation

4. The cell membrane of a cell is said to be semi-permeable

because

A. it allows only large molecular substance to pass through it

into the cell.

B. it is actively involved in energy production in the cell.

C. it actively allow all substances to pass through it by

diffusion.

D. it is actively selective in allowing substances pass through

it.

E. fatty acids are only the building blocks of the membrane.

5. Which of the following organisms exists as a colony?

A. Paramecium

B. Spirogyra

C. Chlamydomonas

D. Volvox

E. Amoeba

6. Study the diagrams below and use them to answer the question

that follows

Cell in Water Same cell in strong salt solution


A. diffusion

B. plasmolysis

C. absorption

D. permeability

E. cohesion

7. The organelles intimately connected with respiration in cells are

the:

A. microsomes

B. plastids

C. mitochondria

D. chromosomes

E. golgi bodies

8. Haemolysis of the red blood cells occur when blood is

A. put in hypotonic solution

B. put in liquid nitrogen

C. put in isotonic solution

D. put in concentrated salt solution

E. collected in a container

9. Which of the following is NOT a cell organelle?

A. Golgi body

B. Nucleus

C. Fat droplets

D. Ribosomes

E. Endoplasmic reticulum

10. Which of the following is NOT true of the nucleus of a living

cell? It contains

A. chromosomes

B. nucleolus

C. nucleoplasm

D. chromatids

E. ribosomes

11. The cell membrane consist of

A. Carbohydrates and lipids

B. Vitamins and proteins

C. Lipids and proteins

D. Water and sugar

E. Starch and cellulose

12. Which of the following is not likely to be found in the cell of a

ripe tomato fruit?

A. Chromoplast

B. Chlorophyll

C. Cellulose cell wall

D. Mitochondrion

E. Mineral salts

13. Osmosis can be defined as diffusion of

A. atoms and molecules through a membrane to an area of

higher concentration.

B. water molecules for a dilute solution to a concentrated

solution across a preamble membrane.

C. water molecules from an area of high concentration to an

area of low concentration.

D. water molecules from a dilute solution to a concentrated

solution through a semi-permeable membrane.

E. water molecules from a concentrate solution to a dilute

solution through a semi-permeable membrane.

14. Which of the following structures can be found only in plant

cells?

A. Myomere fibre

B. Plastids

C. Nucleolus

D. Cell vacuole

E. Mitochondrion

15. In aerobic respiration, oxidative phosphorylation takes place in

the

A. Cytoplasm

B. Mitochondria

C. Lysosome

D. Vacuole

E. Ribosome

16. Which of the following processes is not applicable to the reaction

of a cell to the concentration of a liquid medium?

A. Osmosis

B. Haemolysis

C. Diffusion

D. Plasmolysis

E. Radiation

17. Which of the following processes explains the bursting of marine

unicellular organism when it is placed in fresh water?

A. Osmosis

B. Diffusion

C. Plasmolysis

D. Haemolysis

E. Faccidity

18. Which of the following is a similarity between a typical animal

cell and a typical plant cell? Presence of

A. Cellulose cell wall

B. Chlorophyll

C. Centrally – placed nucleus

D. Cell membrane

E. Large vacuole

19. Most of the energy in the cell is produced in the

A. Mitochondrion

B. Lysosome

C. Plastid

D. Golgi apparatus

E. Cytoplasm

20. In which of the following parts of a cell is the chromosome

found?

A. Nucleus

B. Golgi body

C. Cytoplasm

D. Cell membrane

E. Cell wall

21. Which of the following organisms does not exist as a single free-

living cell?

A. Amoeba

B. Volvox

C. Euglena

D. Paramecium

E. Chlamydomonas

22. In which of the following processes is a semi-permeable

membrane necessary?

A. Diffusion

B. Osmosis

C. Capillarity

D. Cyclosis

E. Hydrolysis

23. Which of the following can function as a semi-permeable

membrane?

A. Cell membrane

B. Polythene material

C. Blotting paper

D. Filter paper

E. Boiled yam tuber

24. Which of the following process is responsible for the perception

of the odour from a rotten egg broken at a far end of a

laboratory?

A. Absorption

B. Evaporation

C. Diffusion

D. Osmosis

E. Transpiration

25. When a plant cell is put into a hypertonic solution, its

cytoplasmic content

A. becomes swollen

B. increases in number

C. becomes plasmolysed

D. disintegrates

E. becomes turgid


slice of cork under the microscope was

A. Robert Hooke

B. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek

C. Mathias Scheiden

D. Theodor Schwann

E. Alexander Fleming

27. In which of the following is a cellulose cell wall present?

A. Amoeba

B. Mammalian white blood cell

C. Spirogyra

D. Paramecium

E. Parasitic worms

28. Which of the following organisms exist as a filament?

A. Euglena

B. Amoeba

C. Volvox

D. Paramecium

E. Spirogyra

29. Plant cells differ from animals cells in their possession of

A. large vacuoles

B. ribosomes

C. cytoplasm

D. nucleus

E. nucleic acids

30. Potato strips left in strong salt solution for four hours were found

to be soft. This was because the

A. Potato strips absorbed the salt by the process of osmosis.

B. Potato strips absorbed water by the process of osmosis.

C. Cell sap of the potato strip was more concentrated than

salt solution.

D. Potato strips lost water by the process of ex-osmosis and

become weak and flaccid.

E. Potato strips lost water by the process of diffusion and

become flaccid.

31. Glucose is transferred from the intestinal lumen into the villi

through a process known as

A. diffusion

B. osmosis

C. plasmolysis

D. translocation

E. transcription


A. It involves the movement of water molecules only.

B. Molecules move from a region of higher concentration to a

region of lower concentration to a region of lower

concentration.

C. Differentially permeable membrane must be present for

diffusion to occur.

D. It involves the movement of only solute molecules into the

Bowman‟s capsule.

E. It occurs when a solute can no longer dissolve in a solvent.

Study the set up below and use it to answer questions 33 to 35

33. This set up can be used in an experiment do demonstrate

A. diffusion

B. tugor

C. turgidity

D. osmosis

E. absorption

34. Yam is used in this experiment because it


B. is permeable to solutes

C. acts as a semi-permeable membrane

D. possesses large pores through which liquids can pass


35. Which of the following results would not be expected if the set

up was left for several hours?

A. increase in the size of the yam.

B. movement of the salt solution into the water.

C. decrease in the volume of water inside the yam.

D. increase in the volume of salt solution in the beaker.

E. movement of the water into the salt solution

36. All the following processes in animals take place by diffusion

except the movement of

A. oxygen in the alveoli into the living tissue

B. carbon dioxide from the living tissue into the alveoli

C. nutrient materials from the mother through the placenta

into the embryo.

D. amino acids into the blood capillaries of the villi.

E. materials from the glomerulus into the Bowman‟s capsule.

37. Four cells with osmotic potential equivalent to that of 3% salt

solution were immersed respectively in solutions of different

concentrations labeled as follows:

I = 4% salt solution

II = 6% salt solution

III = 1% salt solution

IV = 10% salt solution

V = 5% salt solution

38. Which of the solutions will cause an increased in the osmotic

pressure within the cell?

A. I

B. II

C. III

D. IV

E. V

38. If a drop of freshly drawn mammalian blood is mixed with a lithe

common salt on a slicle and then after a few minutes, observed

under the microscope, the red corpuscles will

A. remain the same size

B. swell up

C. lose their red colour

D. shrink

E. clot


A. cellulose cell wall

B. protoplasm

C. vacuole

D. nucleus

E. cell membrane

40. Which of the following organism is one called and free-living?

A. Volvox

B. Spirogyra

C. Rhizopus

D. Chlamydomonas

E. Hydra

41. The cell is the functional unit of living organism because

A. multicellular organisms are made up of cells.

B. all the cells in a multicellular organism function as a single

cell

C. the function of a multicellular organism is the sum total of

the functions of its constituent cells.

D. the function of a single cell is superior to that of the

multicellular organism.

E. the cells of a multicellular organism are similar in

structure.

42. Which of the following is NOT a characteristics of any green

plant cell?

A. The vacuoles contain sap

B. The food store is glycogen

C. A protein body is present in the cytoplasm

D. There are chromosomes in the nucleus

E. Both nucleus and cytoplasm are enclosed in membrane

43. The mechanism of gaseous exchange in living organisms is

essentially by

A. Osmosis

B. Inhalation

C. Diffusion

D. Exhalation

E. Breathing

44. Which of the following is most important to all cell activities?

A. Light

B. Water

C. Carbon dioxide

D. Chlorophyll

E. Nitrates

45. Which of these scientists were directly concerned with the cell

theory?

A. Theodor Schwann and Mathias Schleiden

B. Robert Hooke and Charles Darwin

C. Felix Dujardin and Mathias Schleiden

D. Theodor Schwann and Robert Hooke

E. Robert Hooke and Rodolf Vicrow

46. Which of the following does not explain the cell theory?

A. Organisms with multicellular structure can attain maximal

functional efficiency.

B. All living organisms are composed of one or more cells.

C. The cell is the structural and functional unit of all living

organisms.

D. All existing cells come from the reproduction of pre-

existing cells.

E. A cell contains information for its structural and functional

development in its nucleic acid.

47. Cells carrying out active transport have the following except

having

A. numerous mitochondrion

B. a high concentration of ATP

C. an immediate energy store

D. numerous ribosomes

E. a high cellular respiratory tate

48. The cells of the yam tuber functioning as a unit could best be

described as:

A. Colony

B. an organ

C. a tissue

D. a filament

E. a system

49. To which of the following levels of organization do stomach

belongs

A. organs

B. systems

C. tissues

D. cells

E. organism

50. Which of the following structure controls the activities of the

living cells?

A. Nucleus

B. Centrosome

C. Chloroplast

D. Mitochondrion

E. Golgi body

MARKING SCHEME FOR PRE-BAT

1. A 11. C 21. B 31. A 41. D

2. C 12. B 22. B 32. B 42. B

3. C 13. D 23. A 33. D 43. C

4. D 14. B 24. C 34. C 44. B

5. D 15. B 25. C 35. B 45. A

6. B 16. E 26. A 36. E 46. A

7. C 17. A 27. C 37. C 47. D

8. A 18. D 28. E 38. D 48. C

9. C 19. A 29. A 39. A 49. A

10. E 20. A 30. D 40. D 50. A

BIOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT TEST POST-BAT BEFORE

VALIDATION

1. In which of the following levels of existence is food vacuoles

present?

A. Parasitic worms

B. Colony

C. Filament

D. Single independent cell

E. Mammalian blood cells

2. Which of the following organisms exist at the tissue level of

organization?

A. Hydra

B. Volvox

C. Spirogyra

D. Rhizopus

E. Euglena


A. Cellulose cell wall

B. Protoplasm

C. Vacuoles

D. Nucleus

E. Cell Membrane

4. One of the differences between the cheek cells of man and cell in

the tip of onions root is the presence of

A. large vacuoles

B. ribosome

C. cytoplasm

D. nucleus

E. nucleic acid

5. Which of the following is most important to all cells as a living

unit?

A. vacuole

B. nucleus

C. cell boundary

D. chloroplast

E. ribosome

6. The first scientist to describe the cell was

A. Theodore Schewann

B. Felix Dupardin

C. Robert Hooke

D. Mathias Schleiden

E. Alexander Flemming

7. The two physical processes involved in the absorption and

transportation of materials in plants are

A. diffusion and plasmolysis

B. cohesion and diffusion

C. flaccidity and turgidity

D. osmosis and diffusion

E. plasmolysis and capillarity

8. Which of the following organism is one celled and free-living?

A. Volvox

B. Spirogyra

C. Rhizopus

D. Chlamydomonas

E. Hydra

The diagram below illustrates the structure of a cell. Use it to

answer questions 9 and 10

9. The structure that produces the energy required by the cell is

labeled

A. I

B. II

C. III

D. IV

E. V

10. The structure labeled V is the

A. mitochondrion

B. ribosome

C. nucleus

D. centriole

E. nucleolus

11. Which of the following organism is one celled and free-living?

A. Volvox

B. Spirogyra

C. Rhizopus

D. Chlamydomonas

E. Hydra

Use the diagram below to answer questions 12 – 16

12. What do you observe after several hours?

A. The cavity in the paw-paw will be full of liquid

B. The cavity in the paw-paw will be empty

C. The water level in the beaker will have risen

D. The size of paw-paw will increase

E. Nothing happens

13. Which process has been shown to operate in the experiment?

A. Diffusion

B. Transportation pull

C. Tugor

D. Plasmolysis

E. Osmosis

14. The process would not have occurred if the paw-paw has been

cooked. What property of the cell was destroyed by the cooking?

A. The permeable property of the cell wall

B. The property of the cytoplasmic lining of the cells to act as

semi-permeable membrane.

C. The property to act as semi-permeable membrane.

D. The property of the cell vacuole to act as suction pump.

E. None of the above.

15. The pawpaw is used in the experiment because it


B. is permeable to solute

C. acts as a semi permeable membrane

D. possesses large pores through which liquids can pass


16. What is the use of this process to the plant?

A. it facilitates the intake of water from the soil

B. allows the movement of gases between the blood cells and

the body cells.

C. it facilitates the intake of carbon dioxide during

Photosynthesis.

D. it facilitates the intake mineral salts by root hairs.

E. it facilitates the absorption of digested food by small

Intestine.

17. The network of double membrane that helps to convey materials

through the cytoplasm is the

A. plasma membrane

B. nuclear membrane

C. vacuolar membrane

D. endoplasmic reticulum

E. mitochondrion

18. The structure that is most commonly identified in all living cells

under the light microscope is the

A. mitochondrion

B. chloroplast

C. ribosome

D. nucleus

E. centriole

19. Which of the following is the carrier of hereditary materials?

A. centriole

B. cytoplasm

C. nucleolus

D. chromosome

E. lysosome

20. Thin slices of potato or cassava are placed in water for one hour

and then examined. What should be the condition of the cells of

the tissue?

A. Plasmolysed

B. Normal

C. Flaccid

D. Swollen and burst

E. Turgid

21. Which of the following statement is incorrect.

A. Plant cells are generally larger than animal cells

B. Plant cells are surrounded by thick and rigid cell wall

C. Plant cells possess large vacuole

D. Plant and animal cells have plastids

E. Cells form the basic unit of the organisms

22. The arrangement of the level of organization in organism from

simple to most complex structure is as follows:

A. tissue, organ, cell and system

B. cell, tissue, organ and system

C. system, organ, tissue and cell

D. organ, organelle, cell and tissue

E. cell, organelle, system and organ

23. Study the diagrams below and use them to answer the question

that follows.


A. active transport

B. diffusion

C. plasmolysis

D. osmosis

E. haemolysis

24. Which of the following statement is not true of osmotic process?

A. There must be a selectively permeable membrane.

B. The two solution must be different concentration initially.

C. It involves only the movement of water molecules.

D. Equilibrium is reached when there is equal distribution of

water molecules.

E. The two solutions are of equal concentration a the

beginning of the experiment.

25. Which one of the following structures could be commonly found

in a nerve cell, cell of spirogyra and amoeba?

A. Dendrite

B. Vacuole

C. Cell wall

D. Granules

E. Nucleus

26. The organisms listed below are unicellular in nature except

A. Paramecium

B. Amoeba

C. Euglena

D. Chlamydomonas

E. Volvox

27. Below is a list of levels of organization in organism I Tissue II

System III Cell IV Organ. The correct sequence of the levels in

increasing order of complexity is

A. I II III IV

B. III IV I II

C. III I IV II

D. IV III I II

E. IV I II III

28. When the epidermis of an onion is placed in a salt solution, the

cell will become

A. Plasmolysed

B. Turgid

C. Haemolysed

D. Saturated

E. Colourless

29. What would happen if the epidermis of the onion was placed in

distilled water?

A. it will become flaccid

B. it will lose more water

C. it will shrink

D. water will enter the cells of the epidermis

E. the epidermis will change colour

30. The cell is the functional unit of living organisms because

A. multicellular organisms are made up of cells.

B. all the cells in a multicellular organism function as a single

cell

C. the function of a multicellular organism is the sum total of

the sum total of the function of its constituent cells.

D. the function of a single cell is superior to that of the

multicellular organism.

E. the cell of a multicellular organism are similar in structure.

Use the figure below to answer questions 31 and 32

31. After 30 minutes, the level of sugar solution in the above figure

will

A. rise in only

B. rise in y only

C. be the same in and y

D. fall in y

E. fall in

32. The process by which water moves from to y through the semi

permeable membrane is called

A. diffusion

B. osmosis

C. active transport

D. active diffusion

E. plasmolysis

33. The organelle which eliminate water from the body of protozoa

is

A. plasma membrane

B. contractile vacuole

C. cell wall

D. protoplasm

E. nucleus

Study the diagram below and use them to answer the questions

that follows: Effects of three solutions (A, B, C) on different strength

on red blood cells.

34. Which of the following shows the haemolysis of red blood cells.

A. I

B. II

C. III

D. IV

E. V

35. Which of these shows the state of the red blood cells when

placed in hypertonic solutions?

A. II

B. I

C. V

D. IV

E. III

36. Which of the diagrams above describe the state of the cell if

placed in an isotonic solution?

A. V

B. IV

C. I

D. II

E. III

37. Which of the following statement about the difference between

plant and animal cells not correct?

A. Animal cells possess denser cytoplasm than plant cells.

B. Plant cells possess larger vacuoles than animal cells.

C. The cell walls of plant cells contain cellulose.

D. There are fewer chloroplast in animal cells than in plant

cells.

E. Plant cells have rigid cell walls.

38. Which of the following is the correct match of the form in which

living cells exist?

A. Spirogyra – filament

B. Spirogyra – colony

C. Volvox – filament

D. Pandorina – filament

E. Chlamydomonas – filament

39. Diffusion is different from osmosis because it involves

movement of

A. Solvent molecules from low concentration to high

concentration.

B. Solvent molecules from high concentration to low

concentration

C. Solute molecules from high concentration to low

concentration.

D. Solute molecules from low concentration to high

concentration.

E. Solute and solvent molecules from high concentration to

low concentration.


A. it involves the movement of water molecules only.

B. molecules move from a region of higher concentration to a

region of lower concentration.

C. differentially permeable membrane must be present for

diffusion to occur.

D. it involves the movement of only solute molecules into the

Bowman‟s capsule.

E. it occurs when a solute can no longer dissolve in a solvent.

41. Mineral salts can be absorbed in the root by –

A. diffusion only

B. osmosis only

C. osmosis and diffusion

D. diffusion and active transport

E. imbibitions only

42. Which of the following is not a diffusion process?

A. Entry of water from the soil solution into the root hairs.

B. Gaseous exchange in photosynthesis.

C. Gaseous exchange in respiration.

D. Passage of dissolved gases through specialized respiratory

membranes in animals e.g. lungs.

E. Exchange of dissolved gases in respiring aquatic

organisms.

43. On what structure are the unit of inheritance situated?

A. Golgi bodies

B. Ribosomes

C. Chromosomes

D. Endoplasmic reticulum

E. Lysosomes

44. Which of the following organelles are likely to be present in cells

that are actively respiring and photosynthesizing?

A. Nucleolus and centriole

B. Mitochondria and chloroplast

C. Mitochondria and centriole

D. Lysosomes and ribosomes

E. Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum

45. The movement of particles of a substance, from regions of higher

concentration to those of lower concentration, until their

concentra is uniform is known as:

A. Osmosis

B. Plasmolysis

C. Diffusion

D. Absorption

E. Haemolysis

46. One differences between plant and animal cells is that:

A. Plant cells have less distinct outline, but plant cells have

distinct outline.

B. Plant cell wall is made of cellulose, but animal cell wall is

made of chitin.

C. In plant cell large vacuoles are absent, but present in

animal cells.

D. In plant cells plastids are absent but present in animals.

E. In plant cells carbohydrates are stored as starch, but as

glycogen in animals.

47. The diagram below illustrates the beginning of two experiments

1 & 2. Name the process or processes operating in both the

experiments that accounts for the flow of water.

A. Osmosis in 1 and diffusion in 2

B. Osmosis in both 1 and 2

C. Diffusion in both 1 and 2

D. Diffusion in 1 and osmosis in 2

E. Active transport in 1 and osmosis in 2

48. To which form of existence does Amoeba, Paramecium,

Chlamydomonas and Euglena belong?

A. Filamentous organisms

B. Semi independent organisms

C. Single cell organism

D. Tissue organisms

E. Colonial organisms

49. Which of the following structures differentiate an animal cell

from a plant cell?

A. Ribosomes

B. Cell membrane

C. Chloroplast

D. Mitochondrion

E. Lysosome

50. The movement of solvent molecules from a weak solution,

across a semi-permeable membrane into a stronger solution is

known as:

A. diffusion

B. active transport

C. suction

D. osmosis

E. transpiration

KEY TO POST BAT

1. D 11. C 21. B 31. B 41. D

2. A 12. A 22. B 32. B 42. A

3. A 13. E 23. A 33. B 43. C

4. A 14. B 24. E 34. B 44. B

5. B 15. C 25. E 35. D 45. C

6. C 16. A 26. E 36. E 46. E

7. D 17. D 27. A 37. C 47. B

8. D 18. D 28. A 38. A 48. C

9. B 19. D 29. D 39. B 49. C

10. B 20. E 30. C 40. B 50. D

APPENDIX N

SUMMARY OF ITEM ANALYSIS FOR THE PRE-BAT

Item No Key Discrimination

Index

Facility

Index

Remark

1. A +0.15 0.31 Good

2. C +0.27 0.51 “

3. C +0.11 0.36 “

4. D +0.24 0.51 “

5. D +0.34 0.23 “

6. B +0.14 0.34 “

7. C +0.29 0.21 “

8. A +0.10 0.23 “

9. C +0.11 0.43 “

10. E +0.07 0.62 Bad

11. C +0.19 0.43 Good

12. B +0.20 0.37 “

13. D +0.13 0.26 “

14. B +0.10 0.29 “

15. B +0.08 0.24 “

16. E +0.10 0.31 “

17. A +0.17 0.46 “

18. D +0.13 0.34 “

19. A +0.09 0.26 Bad

20. A +0.17 0.37 Good

21. B +0.21 0.41 “

22. B +0.29 0.30 “

23. A +0.23 0.44 “

24. C +0.26 0.46 “

25. C +0.20 0.20 “

26. A +0.41 0.40 “

27. C +0.20 0.23 “

28. E +0.29 0.31 “

29. A +0.08 0.63 Bad

30. D +0.36 0.34 Good

31. A +0.11 0.41 “

32. B +0.27 0.37 “

33. D +0.30 0.41 “

34. C +0.23 0.26 “

35. B +0.42 0.21 “

36. E +0.10 0.41 “

37. C +0.23 0.72 “

38. D +0.31 0.32 “

39. A +0.22 0.40 “

40. D +0.09 0.14 Bad

41. C +0.32 0.20 Good

42. B +0.29 0.43 “

43. C +0.09 0.40 “

44. B +0.26 0.26 “

45. A +0.22 0.34 “

46. A +0.27 0.37 “

47. D +0.21 0.43 “

48. C +0.15 0.46 “

49. A +0.28 0.34 “

50. A +0.19 0.31 “

APPENDIX O

SUMMARY OF ITEM ANALYSIS FOR THE POST-BAT

Item No Key Discrimination

Index

Facility

Index

Remark

1. D +0.15 0.31 Good

2. A +0.09 0.36 Bad

3. A +0.21 0.15 “

4. A +0.27 0.25 Good

5. B +0.26 0.20 “

6. C +0.32 0.38 “

7. D +0.22 0.22 “

8. D +0.31 0.29 “

9. B +0.23 0.48 “

10. B +0.40 0.51 “

11. C +0.08 0.50 Bad

12. A +0.10 0.32 Good

13. E +0.42 0.35 “

14. B +0.23 0.26 “

15. C +0.30 0.43 “

16. A +0.27 0.34 “

17. D +0.11 0.17 Bad

18. D +0.36 0.32 Good

19. D +0.29 0.26 “

20. E +0.41 0.40 “

21. B +0.26 0.31 “

22. B +0.26 0.31 “

23. A +0.23 0.34 “

24. E +0.29 0.50 “

25. E +0.24 0.41 “

26. E +0.13 0.26 “

27. A +0.17 0.21 “

28. A +0.10 0.72 “

29. D +0.10 0.31 “

30. C +0.13 0.20 Good

31. B +0.17 0.50 “

32. B +0.13 0.41 “

33. B +0.20 0.46 “

34. B +0.19 0.26 “

35. D +0.19 0.29 “

36. E +0.21 0.37 “

37. C +0.11 0.23 “

38. A +0.29 0.21 “

39. B +0.14 0.37 “

40. B +0.34 0.18 Bad

41. D +0.24 0.43 Good

42. A +0.22 0.62 “

43. C +0.20 0.21 “

44. B +0.34 0.34 “

45. C +0.25 0.45 “

46. E +0.27 0.42 “

47. B +0.20 0.30 “

48. C +0.22 0.32 “

49. C +0.07 0.51 Bad

50. D +0.30 0.31 Good

APPENDIX P

TRAINING MANUAL FOR TEACHERS OR RESEARCH

ASSISTANTS

The teachers were trained on the following instructional

guidelines:

The Meaning of LAP:

Learning Activity Package is a package that makes for

individualization in learning. It is an adaptation of the programming

for instruction. It is a form of communication between the student and

the teacher that contains instructions for student activities teaching

towards specified performance outcomes.

It is a booklet containing learning assignments organized

sequentially to achieve the specified objectives. The package contains

diverse activities to reach the objectives. In addition, it contains

evaluation techniques to determine whether the objectives have been

achieved or not.

The component on LAP include –

- The topic and sub topics

- Rationale

- Behavioural Objectives

- Pre Test

- Learning Activity

- Post Test

The researcher using the already prepared LAP and teacher‟s

guide, drilled the teachers on how to use the LAP, emphasizing that the

students are allowed to use the package and are required to call their

attention where necessary.

APPENDIX Q

Table 2: Distribution of Research Subjects in the Various Intact

Classes Used for the Study

S/No Name of School Treatment

Group

No. of

Male

No. of

Female

Total Grand

Total

1. Annunciation

Secondary

School, Nike

LAP - 40

Lecture - 39

20

19

20

20

40

39

79

2. Community High

School Ugwogo

– Nike

LAP - 40

Lecture - 38

19

18

21

20

40

38

78

3. Government

Technical

College Enugu

LAP - 40

Lecture - 40

22

23

18

17

40

40

80

4. Community

Secondary

School

Iva-Valley

LAP - 40

Lecture - 40

19

17

21

23

40

40

80

Total 317 157 160 317 317

For Learning Activity Package method of instruction (LAP)

group, a total of 160 SSII students were used (80 males and 80

females), while the lecture method of instruction group comprised 157

SSII students (77 males and 80 females). (Statistical Unit PPSMB

Enugu Zone – Enugu).

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